Let Go
by Moondalian
Summary: Sequel to Hold On, AU: With Yami’s refusal to take the demonic throne someone else attempts to take the throne. At the same time Yami’s past seems to be catching up with him. YxYY, SxJ, BxR, MxM, rape
1. Prologue: Demon Hunt

**Authoress: Moondalian  
Editor: Tavi  
Summary: Sequel to Hold On, AU: With Yami's refusal to take the demonic throne someone else attempts to take the throne. At the same time Yami's past seems to be catching up with him.  
Pairings: YamixYuugi, MalikxMariku, RyouxBakura, SetoxJoey

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Well, here´s the prologue to the sequel of HO as I promised! Well, that´s the good news anyway. School has been devouring my time lately, and I really don´t have any time to write. I´ve so far finished this and the first two chapters, but school is actually annoying me so much I can´t concentrate on the next chap. In short, I will not be starting to update weekly like I usually do. Until I actually have time again to start writing, I won´t be posting anything, at all. °sighs° And that annoys me because writing relaxes me. Well, anyway, I hope you all have fun with this chapter, cuz it's the only one you're getting for quite a while. R&R!

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**--: Prologue :--  
Demon hunt**

Soft humming was heard through darkened halls with only lit torches to grant a bit of sight to those who walked through them. Although barely anything could be seen in the dimly lit passage, it seemed the two figures creeping through them didn't have problems seeing at all. The first, a young man in his mid twenties with long silver-white hair wore a scowl on his face, and was holding back the irritation and anger showing in his russet eyes.

The second, a platinum-blonde with lilac eyes tinged with the slightest bit of red and around the same age as the first was the one humming to himself happily, though even his voice betrayed the slight bit of madness showing quite clearly in his eyes. He seemed to be happy about something even though the atmosphere around the two was anything but cheerful; depression and a deathly silence rung through the air, if you didn't count the constant humming.

There was something strange about both men though. Neither seemed to have hands, but sharp claws instead with nails that could penetrate practically anything. Black, thick tails were wrapped securely around their middles so they wouldn't make any sounds with sharp tips at the very end that could slash deeply if needed. Large powerful black leather-like wings were folded on both their backs, just waiting to be used if necessary. These two weren't normal men; they were demons, and two of the strongest at that.

"Would you be silent, Mariku! We're trying to get through this _without_ being seen. We've already almost been spotted twice because people came looking for that annoying racket!" The first demon hissed and glared at the other, his anger finally getting the better of him. They were supposed to be silent so they wouldn't be found out, and his companion was making it very difficult. He usually didn't have much patience, but in this situation it was even thinner than usual.

The second, Mariku, grinned happily as if the first wasn't glaring imaginary daggers at him and kept humming, the tune only becoming more cheerful. He loved annoying the other to see how long it would take him to blow a fuse. Seeing as he could already imagine steam coming out of the other's ears, it wouldn't be much longer. Deciding that making the white-haired demon shout right now would be a dead giveaway of where they were, he stopped at long last and smiled innocently.

"What's wrong Bakura? Don't like my tune?" Now that Mariku was actually speaking the insanity was even clearer, though all who lived in Hell knew not to underestimate Mariku. Many had done so, believing Mariku wasn't sane enough anymore to fight properly, and all had died a very slow and painful death.

Bakura's glare merely got harsher, "Do you want us to get caught or something? Do you really want to get killed that badly?!"

Mariku shrugged, not bothering to answer the question any further, as he knew Bakura wouldn't accept any answer. If he said yes, Bakura would throw a fit and they'd be found. If he said no, Bakura would demand an explanation and after Mariku didn't give one, throw a fit and they'd be discovered. This way however, Bakura would just simmer in his anger but stay quiet, which in Mariku's opinion, was for the best right now.

Both walked along the passage for a while longer, scanning every corner and shadow for signs of life. So far it had been easy, and they both thought it was a little too easy.

'_Then again,'_ Bakura reasoned at that thought, _'that pompous jerk would be too cocky to use guards. He probably thinks he can handle anything.'_

More silence, before Mariku turned to Bakura and spoke, his voice surprisingly serious and sane, "So any idea where he's supposed to be? This castle hides every aura so…" he left the statement hanging, watching as Bakura's scowl deepened.

Bakura sighed as the other thought that had been going through his head was voiced. Indeed he couldn't sense anything, which was the reason why they were being so cautious. Bakura had no idea where they were and where the person was they were looking for. They had been walking through the ancient castle for over two hours now, but still no sign indicating they were getting closer to their target.

"I don't know, Mariku. But we better find him soon or I'll go insane. I'm getting sick and tired of this castle; everything looks the same!" Bakura punched the wall left of him, but it didn't even leave a scratch. Cursing softly and at the same time glad nothing had collapsed, as that would've really given them away, Bakura glared at the darkness ahead of him.

Mariku glanced in the same direction and sighed, "Come on, we might as well keep going."

Both walked on, still careful to remain unseen. The castle was still eerily silent and even though they knew they had left early in the morning, it should be time for people to wake up, as they had been here for quite a while. Every corner was approached tensely, both afraid that someone might be lurking in the shadows and jump them. Nothing came though, and it only made the tension in the air thicker.

"This is ridiculous." Bakura growled, after passing another corner without anything being seen. "We knew from the start that it was most likely that he knew we were coming and I think this proves it. We haven't seen a single servant around here and I'm pretty sure he has loads of those. This has 'trap' spelled on it so damn big that it wouldn't even fit the castle!"

He turned and started back in the direction they'd come from. Mariku raised an eyebrow and shrugged, following Bakura but knowing they wouldn't get far. They'd passed so many turns and twists they would never find their way back again, and would only wander deeper into the castle. As everything looked the same, there was no way Bakura could know how to get back.

As Mariku had predicted, Bakura and he only wandered further into the castle. Just as Bakura was about to give a loud yell of frustration and call for someone to just come and fight them, rather than to have them walking around with no purpose, the wall a few feet in front of them split open and a voice could be heard on the other side. It was cold, emotionless, yet a tone of amusement was ringing through it clearly.

"It took you two long enough, you've been walking around in circles all this time, so I would've thought you'd come across this passage at one point or another."

Bakura hissed much like a snake would, and Mariku – who had once again started to hum at one point – immediately went back to his serious somewhat more sane side. A shadow approached at the door and within seconds a boy no older than 17 stood there, a malicious smirk on his handsome face.

He had jet-black jagged hair that reached his shoulders, his eyes matching that same colour even though that seemed to be impossible. Black wings were spread out behind, showing their wide length and telling all he was ready to fight, as razor-sharp claws were already being poised to strike all coming too close. This wasn't what told Bakura and Mariku they had found the person who they had been looking for though. There was a strange tattoo in his left upper-arm showing a weird sign that no mortal would ever recognize. Mariku and Bakura did though; it was the demonic sign for the word 'sin'.

"Tsumi!" Bakura hissed again, his voice could still be compared to one of a snake if it were to learn the human language. The boy across from them widened his smirk, and bowed in a mocking manner.

"I feel _honored_ that the _great_ Bakura Kaitou would recognize little old _me_." The mocking in his voice as he spoke specific words was undeniable, and Bakura's glare went ever harsher than before.

"Yes, because I wouldn't know the person killing off everyone in sight huh?" Bakura spat, "You're a fool."

Tsumi stood up straight again, the mockery and amusement not hidden the slightest on his face, "I? A fool? I believe I didn't try to break into the castle of the future demonic overlord to try and kill him, Bakura." The teen smirked and turned his back on them, simply walking back into the chamber he'd been in prior. Bakura couldn't believe how foolish this boy could be; turning your back on an enemy?

Still, he didn't attack, and Mariku and he entered the chamber as well. It was no use trying to attack right now, as Tsumi would have guards surrounding them faster than Bakura could even so much as wrap his claws round the teen's neck. If Tsumi had let them come then they might as well wait until the other was ready to actually fight them.

As they entered the new room, it was like they had walked into the still intact version of the royal throne room. The room was decorated beautifully though small differences could be seen, making the room undeniably Tsumi's, and not late Aknunkanon's. Large tapestries hung from wall, all depicting the demonic sighn for one of the seven sins: lust, gluttony, envy, greed, wrath, sloth, and pride.

Bakura glanced around for a minute, before simply ignoring the scenery and focusing on the person they had come here for, "If you knew we were coming, then why did you let us get this close to you? I'm sure you know that even you would have problems fighting both Mariku and I." His gaze fixed intently on Tsumi's soulless black eyes as the other turned and a smirk came onto his face.

"Did you know that in very rare cases a demon receives a soul at birth? It's really quite nasty for the demon since he has to live with other demons that don't have that problem, and simply kill as they please. Mostly the demon dies of insanity." Tsumi's eyes flickered over to the so far silent Mariku, but the platinum blond was listening intently and paying more attention than anyone would've probably thought him capable of at first sight.

Bakura narrowed his eyes on the teen in front of him, "Don't play tricks on me, Tsumi. All of Hell knows Mariku and I have souls but did not go as insane as many would've liked, because we decided that demons weren't worth mourning over and didn't care if they died. Where are you going with this story?" His question was more like a demand than anything else, and Tsumi's eyes fixed back on Bakura, though not a hint of impatience or annoyance was seen.

"Did you also know," the boy casually continued as if Bakura hadn't just snarled at him, "that a demon's soul if sucked up by another will transfer its power to the new body, if the right spell would be performed?"

Bakura's eyes narrowed even more if possible, and Mariku's face turned into an ugly snarl.

"So you lured us here to get a bit more power? Is that it?" Tsumi's smirk widened, telling Bakura he had just guessed what was going on. The white-haired demon's blood boiled in his veins with anger. This _boy_ thought he could simply take their powers and be done with it? That they wouldn't put up a fight to stop him? Bakura had known that Tsumi was cocky, but he'd never imagined it to be this bad.

Next to him, Mariku actually laughed at the idea. They were two of the most well-known demons in Hell and not just because they had souls. It was absolutely hilarious to him that this kid would be able to defeat them as easily as he now made it seem.

"You think we're going to just hand everything over to you just because you thought of a new way to get power?" Mariku smirked at him and prepared for an attack, "You'll have to fight us before you get anything."

The smirk on Tsumi's face merely widened, "I thought you might say that, but you're not worth my time." Tsumi's eyes blanked for a moment before coming back into focus. Before Bakura or Mariku could've done anything, guards from entrances they had never noticed filled the room. Left, right, in front, behind, and even above them, were suddenly demons ready to strike.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather just give up now?" Both Bakura and Mariku glared at the teenage boy sitting on the throne now. Tsumi chuckled at their expression. "I didn't think so. Bakura Kaitou and Mariku Kyoki are known for their stubbornness, after all."

Mariku and Bakura sank into fighting stances, ready to fight for their lives and try to get to Tsumi while they were at it. No one moved for a moment, time seemed to have frozen, and then…

"Attack!"

Tsumi had spoken the word so casually that it had seemed like he had asked someone to pass something to him that was completely normal, like he did it everyday. Bakura suspected the latter to actually be right, as many demons died in this castle, but he really didn't have that much time to think about it at the moment as an enormous group of demons attacked him all at once.

Bakura's tail unwrapped from around his waist and lashed out to slash the demons attacking. Many backed away at the huge gash they suddenly had in their body, but others managed to dodge the tail or simply ignored the blood trickling down their bodies. Bakura's eyes shifted rapidly from demon to demon as he attacked each one that was in range with practiced ease. His tail kept lashing out to block other tails from hitting him, as his large wings spread out and he took flight to try and shake off a few of the demons currently trying to stab at his back.

Mariku was in a similar position. His eyes were gleaming with mirth as he fought; seemingly finding it fun to be able to kill the demons that had once drove him to near insanity. Of course he had been pushed over that edge, but it wasn't so bad that he would kill himself like many others had done.

Tsumi, in the mean time was sitting in the throne, watching everything happen with amusement. His eyes glistered in anticipation, as Bakura was finally hit by one of his minions and thrown against a wall, while Mariku was slashed by some demons tail when he wasn't paying enough attention. Tsumi briefly considered remembering who those demons were and thanking them or something, but then noticed that Bakura was now being pummeled by a different one and refused to try to remember all of them.

Mariku, at that moment, saw from the corner of his eye that Bakura could use some help. And quickly cast a spell that sent every demon around him flying into walls, the ceiling, or the floor. He quickly aimed a shadow ball at the demon beating on Bakura, and fired, the demon yelling in pain as it connected and falling to the floor. Bakura gave him a quick, somewhat grateful glance before casting a spell of his own that made the nearest few demons explode.

Tsumi scowled, as he was drenched in blood, and he pulled a disgusted face. His hair was now clinging to his head and slightly red instead of the usual black. He made a mental note to kill every guard currently around to vent his frustration at this.

"What are you idiots doing?! Didn't I tell you to beat them to near death?!" Most demons winced and mentally muttered something about anger management, but in their distracted state Mariku and Bakura easily pounded them into the wall or floor. Those demons that were paying attention though, immediately responded and kicked both demons to the floor after some of the others. Both Mariku and Bakura landed with loud crashes, leaving gaps in the floor.

Mariku groaned as multiple spells hit Bakura and him at once, pushing them further into the rock beneath them. Blood was trickling down almost every part of his body by now, and with one glance he could see Bakura was in no better shape. Even if they did manage to beat all of Tsumi's guards there would be no way they'd be able to defeat Tsumi himself now, they were far too weakened.

"Any bright ideas now?" Mariku glanced aside to see Bakura scowling, obviously coming to the same conclusion as he had.

"I don't know, but I'm not going to just lie here until they finish me off, I'd rather go down fighting than to surrender that easily." Bakura got up, but before he could do anything, more spells blasted him away and into a wall. Bakura nearly gagged as they all hit him in the stomach, but managed to keep it in. He raised his head to glare at the demons above them, only to see smirking faces.

Tsumi had risen into the air again, magic already surrounding him as he prepared a powerful spell. Both Mariku and Bakura knew immediately that this would be the spell to take their souls away and leave them as empty puppets, not able to do anything unless told to. They responded by putting up shields around them, trying to deflect the spell but it was most likely that in their weakened state, it wouldn't work.

Just as Tsumi was about to fire, the smirk on his face now so triumphant that it was impossible to mistake his confidence in winning at the moment, a loud explosion sounded from the hallway, before the closed throne-room doors flew out of their frames and crashed into the wall opposite them. The shadows in the room shifted and seemed to become darker, and every demon except for Mariku, Bakura, and Tsumi flinched, panic now seen in their eyes as they recognized the power emitting from the hall.

A figure emerged from the hall and stood in the doorless frame, with a glare set on his handsome face and rage flashing in his crimson eyes. Large powerful black wings were spread behind him and a purple-black aura surrounded his body. He was clad completely in leather and his entire form screamed power and demanded respect.

All guard cowered and flew back immediately, fearing for their lives at seeing the new person. All knew it would all be over soon, and not in a good way for them.

Crimson eyes scanned the room, lingering on the large group of demons hanging in the air, then at Bakura slumping against a wall, and finally resting on Mariku who was still lying on the floor. His eyes narrowed as they went back to the demon group and Tsumi in specific.

"I see you've been having some fun with my friends." His voice was a deep baritone, the tone in it also demanding the respect his demeanor did. Tsumi also narrowed his eyes, looking over the form for a second before finally seeing who he was. He mentally slapped himself for not seeing it at once, as the odd spiked up tri-colored hair should've been enough to tell him this was Yami Atemu, son of the late demonic overlord Aknunkanon, and strongest demon ever known.

Tsumi resisted the urge to back away as well now and replaced it by glaring even harsher. Who cared if Yami was stronger, Mariku and Bakura had been too but his little slaves had been able to weaken them quite a bit. This would be no different, right?

"Well they're the ones that came here to assassinate me, what was I supposed to do?" The taunting in Tsumi's voice was as strong as ever, not a single bit of fear showing in his eyes or movements.

Yami's eyes flicked to both Mariku and Bakura for a second again, before he muttered something along the lines of 'idiots' under his breath and looked up.

"Well then, I think you've had your fun and I'll just take them with me." He stepped forward towards Bakura and pulled the other up, giving the other a look that meant he'd rather leave them there right now because of their stupidity, before walking over to Mariku and doing the same. Tsumi watching with narrowed eyes. Yami was just ignoring him! How dare he!?

"You're not going anywhere. They tried to kill me and you just helped destroy my throne-room. Plus all three of you have something that I want; your souls!" With one flick of his wrist the demons behind him attacked the trio, though fear was evident in all eyes. Yami raised an eyebrow at the attack, before muttering a spell under his breath and pointing the palm of his left hand at the group of demons coming his way. All demons exploded and blood was once more thrown around the room, together with bones, guts, and other things coming from the demons.

Tsumi's eyes widened at the ease Yami had just shown. Even he couldn't kill demons this easily, and definitely not when it was this many. He backed away, this time for real as he stared at the older male on the ground.

"I don't want to get involved in anything you demons do, but I won't allow you to kill my friends. Now then, we'll be leaving so good luck cleaning this mess up." Yami smirked before he spread the wings that had been folded on his back, and flew into the air. Bakura and Mariku glanced at each other briefly before flying up and following Yami. They both glared at Tsumi once more, but knew they couldn't attack the other or Yami would drag them off anyway.

They all stayed silent until they had left Hell and were back in the mortal world. Yami cast a few glances around, muttered a few more spells to make sure they wouldn't be seen, and led the two behind him to the large skyscraper building, before flying into a window and into his office. Bakura and Mariku didn't say a word and just followed.

"You two want to die, don't you?" Yami closed the window, his back turned to the other two but frustration was clearly beaming off his aura and voice. Mariku looked at him boredly, finding the decorations in the room more interesting than Yami, and Bakura scowled.

"Why didn't you kill him? He's been killing off everyone in sight and you just _let him go!_ We both know you could've taken him apart," Bakura was close to attacking Yami now, but knew that even if he was fully healed he'd be no match, let alone now.

Yami turned around, his eyes boring into Bakura's, "For eight years I've been able to keep away from that world Bakura. The last time I had a real fight was the one I had when I was 18 and killed Aknunkanon. I managed to get every demon to stay away from me and the ones I love for _eight years_, and you think I'm just going to throw all that away now? I don't care if he kills demons, as long as he leaves me alone." Yami turned sharply and walked to his desk as he cast another spell to hide his wings, before sitting down with a long sigh.

Bakura just continued to glare, mentally cursing with every word he knew, and there were quite a few. Mariku and he had met Yami about a year ago when they had ran from Hell because it was just too much for even them to handle. Yami had found them, taken them in and helped them get a life as 'mortals'. Both worked for Yami and lived in the same house – Yami had way too many rooms to fill anyway – and although they'd never admit it were grateful for all Yami had done.

"I'm not going to go into discussion with you on this, and you're not going back to Hell unless you have a damned good reason. That _doesn't _include killing whoever the hell that was." Yami had added the last bit as Bakura had opened his mouth to speak, and the other closed it again and continued to just glare. "Now that we have that settled, go to work."

Yami turned to the computer screen without another word and ignored the two demons standing in the room. Bakura cursed softly before muttering a similar spell that Yami had used to hide his demonic appearance as well as the wounds and blood covering his body. His wings disappeared, so did his tail, and his claws turned into normal hands. Glancing aside, he whacked Mariku on the head to get the other's attention since he'd been staring at some of the pictures Yami had in his office.

Mariku pouted at being hit, before muttering the same spell as Bakura and receiving the same effect. Both left the room, Mariku humming once again and Bakura in an even fouler mood than before.

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**Well, that's it for now. Hope no one kills me. I'll see you all when my school is probably over (aka 2 to 3 months °sighs°) but do review and tell me what you thought!**


	2. Chapter 1: I do

**Well, my first of my 3 exam weeks is over. Just to celebrate, I'm updating the first real chap to LG. That, and it's Easter so I thought I'd be nice. Sorry people, I'm not going back to updating every Saturday, but at least I'm giving you all something ne? R&R people!****

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--: 01 :--  
I do

"Please Nii-san? For me?"

"I'm too busy thanks to Bakura and Mariku. I really can't, Tenshi."

"But it's my birthday. Come on."

Yami let out a sigh, and looked up into pleading emerald-green. He wanted nothing more than to back away from that gaze and the person attached to it since he knew she'd get her way eventually. Well, at least no one could say he hadn't tried.

He gave a quick pleading look of his own over to the door where Yuugi stood. It seemed the other was too busy holding back his laughter to even notice it though, and Yami held back the urge to pout. The world was really against him today. First Mariku and Bakura going demon hunting, now Kumiko begging him to fly her to school. And Yuugi was simply standing there, doing absolutely nothing.

Yami sighed and looked back at his sister. "Kumiko, you're 17, you can go to school yourself I think." The emerald-green eyes only turned more pleading and Yami mentally cringed. He really wouldn't be able to keep on going for very long like this.

Kumiko on the other hand was thinking fast. She didn't feel like taking the bus to school today and it was her birthday so Yami could spare a few moments for her right? Okay, so he'd taken the entire morning off for her to wake her up with Yuugi and give her that enormous stack of presents. But still, he could spare another few minutes for her right?

Thinking fast, Kumiko put on the cutest look she could, "Please Mi-chan?" She only used the old nickname in special cases. Yami would grow immune to it if she used it too much. When she did use it though, Yami usually cracked immediately, and gave her whatever she wanted.

Yami sighed and grumbled something under his breath that she doubted she even wanted to know, before looking up in a defeated manner. "Fine, I'll take you." And it had once again worked. That made the score far-too-much-to-count for Kumiko, and zero for Yami. Kumiko smiled sweetly, mentally throwing a party.

She looked behind her to see Yuugi full-out laughing at the now mock-glaring Yami. Kumiko winked at him before walking over to Yami and hugging him, "Thank you, Nii-san."

"Oh now you're back to calling me that huh? I swear you know too many of my weaknesses." Kumiko also received a mock-glare before Yami wrapped his arms around his little sister and let his wings appear on his back. He gave another quick glare in Yuugi's direction as the other was still laughing his ass off, before gently lifting into the sky and flying out of the window. He carefully cast a spell that would hide them from all mortal eyes and made his way towards the school.

"So why, again, did I have to take you?" Kumiko once again smiled innocently at him. Yami didn't fall for it. His sister might be innocent, but knew damned well how toget him to do anything, and that simply made her evil in his opinion.

"Because it's my birthday and I didn't feel like taking the bus." Kumiko snuggled closer, enjoying the view from way up there. She could see the bus driving below her and a couple of her classmates cycling either in groups or alone.

They reached the school without any problems, and in no time at all. Yami landed on the roof, carefully checking to see if there was no one around to see them, before letting go of Kumiko so she'd become visible again.

"Thanks Mi-chan!" Even though Kumiko couldn't see her brother right now, she knew he was either sulking or glaring. She just smiled sweetly before making her way into the building, careful to make sure no one would see her.

Thinking there was no one around, she quickly made her way down the long stairs to go to class… only to crash into someone at the bottom.

"I'm sorry!" Kumiko looked up at the boy she was still grabbing onto to keep her balance as sky-blue eyes looked back at her in surprise. Kumiko blinked at the unfamiliar crimson-red spiked haircut, slightly sharp features, and handsome appearance. She knew practically everyone in this school, as ome of her friends loved to gossip, but she'd never seen this boy around. Was there a new student that no one had known of?

Well that was something you didn't see everyday. Usually everyone would know if something like this would happen. And it seemed the boy had gone unnoticed so far. Another miracle.

Kumiko smiled as she stepped back and finally let go of the other. The boy was slightly pink in the face, and Kumiko couldn't help but think it looked cute.

"I-it's okay, I wasn't looking where I was going…" The boy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, obviously a bit shy. Kumiko thought this only added to the cuteness.

Kumiko shock her head, "No, it's all my fault." She gave him another curious look-over, "Are you new here? I've never seen you around."

The boy smiled shyly, "Yeah, I just moved into town with my mom."

"Well then, welcome to Domino. I'm Atemu Kumiko, but don't even bother calling me 'Atemu', no one does." She held her hand out for the other to take, curious to find out who the other was.

"I'm Tabiki Ayashige, but everyone just calls me Shige-kun." The boy smiled back and shook Kumiko's hand, looking a bit more at ease though still very shy and nervous. If Kumiko hadn't had any self-control, she would've squealed at the cuteness.

"So do you know which class you're in yet?" Kumiko glanced at the piece of paper clutched in Ayashige's hands, noticing it for the first time. One quick look told her it was a schedule, and by the look of it Ayashige had no idea where he had to go.

"Uhm… yeah, but I'm having trouble finding my classes. Can you tell me where room 143 is? I'm supposed to have math there but I really can't find it." Ayashige blushed again; a bit embarrassed that he couldn't just find the room by himself. Kumiko just grabbed his hand and started to drag him into a direction that he supposed was the way to room 143.

"Yeah, I have math there, too right now so just follow me." Not that he had a choice. Kumiko didn't look it but she was damned strong.

Ayashige kept a close eye on his surrounding so he could find the room by himself the next time, also checking for possible other classes he'd have to go to later. They arrived at room 143 just as the bell sounded for their first hour. Kumiko let go of his hand and pointed out the teacher so he could go tell her he was new, before heading to her regular spot with her friends.

Ayashige watched her go with a smile on his face, though it could've been mistaken for a smirk easily. Only when she sat down and glanced at him did he quickly turn away to go to the teacher.

"Uhm..Sensei? I'm new so…"

"Ah, you must be Tabiki Ayashige-san. The principal told me just this morning you were coming." The teacher smiled before turning to the class. "Class! We have a new student today. His name is Tabiki Ayashige-san, so I want you all to make him feel right at home."

The class gave Ayashige a curious look-over, trying to figure out how a new student coming today could've escaped their attention. Ayashige smiled shyly at everyone, and multiple girls squealed.

"He's a cutie, that's for sure." Kumiko looked next to her to see one of her friends, Shinju Arisu, and laughed a bit at the dreamy look on the other's face.

"You fall in love with a guy every few days. As soon as you see a new one you go for him immediately, Arisu-chan." Kumiko laughed even more at the indignant look Arisu was giving her now.

"You know she's right." Arisu now glared behind her where another girl was sitting, Sayuri Masumi. The girl just smirked at her before looking back to Ayashige who had sat down near a group of jocks. All three girls could already see trouble coming from there, as Ayashige was obviously no jock. The group of jocks had of course also noticed this, and were already smirking at him, planning a prank of some sort. Ayashige seemed to be oblivious to it, though.

Kumiko decided there and then that she'd help Ayashige in that territory. It was a well-known fact that most of the jocks wanted her, if not for her looks than for her money since Yami had loads of that, so it wouldn't be much of a problem keeping the dumb-asses away from Ayashige.

The day went by easily, and with some effort from Kumiko's side the jocks left Ayashige alone.

Masumi was, of course, one of the first to find out just about everything about Ayashige. She was as the person who knew everything about everyone for a reason after all. Ayashige had moved to Domino from Tokyo because his parents had divorced and his father didn't want them around. His mother had gotten work in Domino and so they had moved here. It didn't take Masumi long to even know that Ayashige's blood type was B-positive.

Though Kumiko doubted she wanted to know how her friend had gotten that last piece of information.

By the time Kumiko got home from school Ayashige was all she could talk about. Yuugi – who had picked her up from school because they usually went grocery shopping together - was smiling at the girl he considered his own sister.

"And then Shige-kun-"

"Kumiko-chan, you've been talking about him ever since we left school, and we're back home now. I think I even heard his shoe-size somewhere in the load of information you gave me." Yuugi laughed as Kumiko blushed a bit in embarrassment.

"Well I can't help it that I have a friend that loves to gossip and can find out about anything!" Kumiko wisely looked away as they entered the house, trying to hide her still red face.

Yuugi just shook his head, an amused smile on his lips as he followed the younger girl. It was obvious that it hadn't just been Masumi's interest in knowing everything why Kumiko knew so much about the new boy. Of course this hadn't been the girl's first crush but it was definitely the deepest one so far. Yuugi couldn't remember ever knowing the shoe-size of the girl's crushes before.

As both reached the living room they were surprised to hear sound coming from the kitchen, Yuugi all the more curious as he could feel Yami's rich aura beaming from it.

"Yami?" He entered the kitchen, Kumiko following, to have this eyes widen at the sight.

The table was set up for two with candles lighting the otherwise darkened room from several directions. On the table were two glasses already filled with wine and two plates with food neatly arranged.

Yuugi could see Yami's smiling face sitting on the other side of the table. Kumiko squealed as she, too, took in the sight before quickly clapping a hand over her mouth to quiet herself. Within mere seconds she had said something about forgetting to meet her friends and had proceeded to run out of the house, leaving a thoroughly bewildered Yuugi alone in the kitchen with Yami.

"Y-Yami? What's going on?" Yami's smile merely turned into a slight smirk as he got up and took the groceries still in Yuugi's arms, setting them aside before taking Yuugi's hands and leading him to the table. Yuugi was still very much confused and simply did as Yami obviously wanted him to do.

It wasn't until Yuugi had sat down in a chair and Yami had kneeled in front of him that Yuugi realized what was going to happen. _'He isn't… He wouldn't… Is he going to…?'_

"I've never been that much of a romantic," Yami scratched the back of his head sheepishly, his determined eyes never leaving Yuugi's though, "so I won't give long speech about everything we've been though."

Yuugi swallowed, tears of pure emotion already in his eyes. It was undeniable what was coming next.

One of Yami's hands reached for something in his pant's pocket as the other grabbed one of Yuugi's. Yuugi's eyes were glued to the hand slowly pulling out a small black box before his eyes shifted back to stare into intense crimson.

"Yuugi, I love you with all my heart. Will you marry me?" Yami slowly flipped the box open to reveal a ring with a silver band and a small gem the perfect mesh of ruby and amethyst, one of the colours becoming more prominent as the stone was turned in the light. Tears were freely falling from Yuugi's eyes as he looked at the ring and then back at his face.

"Do you really need to ask? Of course I will." Yami's face softened with love as he slipped the ring around Yuugi's ring finger before leaning up to press his lips to Yuugi's. Yuugi immediately pressed back, deepening the kiss.

As they pulled away, Yuugi smiled as Yami wiped away the tears once more in his eyes. "Kumiko knew you were going to do this, didn't she? That's why she ran out of the house so fast."

Yami chuckled as he stood up and sat down on the opposite side of the table. "She knew I was planning it but she didn't know when. Ghe, if Bakura hadn't kicked me out of my own office I probably wouldn't have done this today."

"Remind me to thank him for that."

They ate together, talking about their day and some ideas for the wedding until Kumiko came home again. Yami was afraid the girl would half rip Yuugi's arm off as she looked at the engagement ring. Luckily Kumiko's stomach growled and her need for food tore her away from Yuugi, saving the poor body part.

* * *

"You're what?!" Yuugi and Yami burst into laughter as Joey stared at them. It was Saturday evening, a couple of hours after Yami had proposed. The angels living in Heaven had come down for their usual get-together night and Yuugi had just announced that Yami had proposed to him, resulting in Joey's outburst. 

Joey stared for a moment before snapping out of it and smiling at the couple, "Well it's about time."

Malik grinned as well, "Heavens yeah! Party!" Everyone laughed as the front door opened and Bakura and Mariku came in, Bakura looking grumpy – most likely because of work – and Mariku once again humming, which only added to Bakura's annoyance.

"Would you stop that infernal humming?! For Hell's sake you're going to give me a mental breakdown!" The laughter only increased as Mariku's humming became louder. All angels were used to having the two demons yelling at each other during their nights on Earth and especially Malik loved to join in on the Bakura torture.

"Don't worry Bakura, you need an actual mind to have it breakdown, so you're safe." Bakura glared at the Mariku look-alike, Malik merely smirking instead of being afraid. The humming immediately stopped, though, as Mariku rushed over to where Malik was sitting, lifting the other from the couch and making him sit on his lap.

Malik sweatdropped and rolled his eyes, "Mariku! How many times do I have to tell you to _not_ do that?"

Mariku grinned at him, "But kitten, you know you love sitting here."

Bakura's mood lifted somewhat as Malik began to argue with his demon look-alike, not moving a muscle away from the other or even trying to. Mariku had 'fallen in love' – as he had exclaimed multiple times already – with Malik the minute he'd laid eyes the angel, resulting in the demon trying to keep Malik as close to him as possible whenever they saw each other.

"Ne, baka. Leave the angel alone and sit on a chair or something." The two blondes simply ignored Bakura and continued to argue. Bakura just rolled his eyes and sat down on the couch next to Ryou. He glanced aside briefly to give his own look-alike a look-over, before turning back to the rest of the group.

"So, Pharaoh, how'd it go? Or did you chicken out after all?"

Yami rolled his eyes at the mockingly spoken words and the nickname. Since Yami was technically still the current demonic overlord - as no one had tried to take that position so far – Bakura and Mariku had taken it upon themselves to come up with a nickname that would show the other's true title, while of course annoying the teen immensely. Seeing as Yami in this life was Egyptian the name 'Pharaoh' had come up at some point.

As a retort to the name, Yami had of course thought of nicknames for the two demons as well. "Would Yuugi be wearing a ring if I had, Tomb Robber?"

"He robbed a bank?" Bakura shrugged, but glanced at a still beaming Yuugi with the ring on his finger, "Well, I see he even said yes. My condolences already, Yuugi."

"Thanks, I'll need them." Yuugi laughed at the protests immediately leaving Yami's mouth as Bakura smirked; his mood was already better.

**

* * *

Well, it will be June somewhere before I start updating for real again so I hope I didn't just screw up something that was meant to be good. Review and make me feel better! It might help with all the stupid exams.**


	3. Chapter 2: Bloodlust

**Okay poeple, after long waiting and many exams on my part, I'M STILL NOT UPDATING REGULARLY. °sees people sweatdrops as they'd expected something else° Yeah, very sorry. I can tell you all that I had my last exams today and because of that, I'm going to update the chap. Because of all the exams I've barely had any time to write though, so I wanna get a few chaps ahead of you guys so I can actually keep up with updates every Saterday. That, and I mihgt have to do some exams over so I'd have to study for that again, which would interfere with this. Somewhere around the 20th of June, then I think I'll be able to get back to writing with my full attention and I'll get this fic done, I swear.**

Well, I hope you all enjoy and R&R peope!

* * *

**--: 02 :--  
Bloodlust**

"Yami, you want to come to the park with Yuugi-kun and me?" Kumiko poked her head into her brother's office, only to blush at seeing other people besides her brother there. Obviously Yami was in a meeting and she'd just disturbed him. "Oops, sorry."

The woman sitting opposite Yami scowled in disapproval at her but the man beside her smiled gently. "It's okay, we were done anyway."

Kumiko relaxed a little, "I'm still sorry-"

"You better be," Kumiko flinched as the strict looking woman cut her off, "we were in a very important meeting and you could've interrupted us."

Yami let out a small sigh. The meeting had already been hard to endure with the woman constantly nagging on and on about things they'd already discussed in previous meetings and it seemed she'd just found a new victim. Well, he had to admit that she did have a point. Kumiko could've interrupted something. She walked into his office a bit too freely really. It was just too damned hard to refuse her anything.

"Kumiko, can you please wait outside?" Yami watched as Kumiko nodded silently and left the room, a slightly crestfallen look on her face. Yami felt his heart wrench but managed to keep it out of his body language. He knew Kumiko had to learn this sooner or later, he just hated it that he had to be the one teaching it to her.

"That's all she's getting? Leave the room?" The woman opposite Yami stood up, disapproval written all over her face. Yami mentally sighed. Why did this woman insist on giving him a headache?

"Mundy-san, I think I know how to handle her best since she's my sister." Although Yami's voice left no room for debate, the woman seemed not to care, making the man sigh in exasperation. Yami mentally smirked; it seemed he wasn't the only one getting tired of the constant nagging.

"Ya-, I mean Atemu-san. She could've interrupted something. Obviously she wasn't raised properly-" The rant continued and Yami had to calm himself so he wouldn't attack the woman. Stupid Americans and being so disrespectful. It was fine if she forgot those stupid honorifics but she'd just hit a nerve when she spoke of Kumiko's upbringing.

"I was the one who raised her." The woman immediately shut up at the cold spoken words. Her eyes widened slightly as Yami's eyes flashed dangerously at her, the colour turning slightly darker with anger, "Now I believe we were done."

The man and woman facing Yami nodded stiffly before quickly leaving the room. Yami sighed again and rubbed his temple. He really needed to keep a closer check on his power. At this rate he was going to hurt someone one of these days, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen. Above all that, his demonic powers had been acting up lately. Somehow making his temper a lot shorter than usual and his desire for fighting bigger.

Yami shook his head. No, he could control himself. Bakura and Mariku had told him he was probably just reacting to this Tsumi guy. His powers could feel the challenge and his past-self wanted nothing more but to take that challenge. It would pass eventually… at least he hoped so.

He quickly typed a few more notes of the meeting down on his computer before putting away all the paperwork and walking to the door. Kumiko was waiting for him in the hall, eyes focussed on the ground and face still crestfallen.. "Kumiko?"

The girl looked up, obviously startled. She quickly turned to him, already opening her mouth to apologize but Yami held his hand up so she would be silent. "Don't, I know you're sorry. Come in."

Kumiko relaxed slightly but she was still a bit tense. She could see her brother was going to lecture her, and that was something that didn't happen often. She hated it. Yami even seemed to be angry with her, something that happened rarely… actually, it hadn't happened before, now that she though of it. Not really anyway.

"Kumiko, how many times have I told you not to barge in here because I could be in a meeting?" Yami sat down behind his desk as Kumiko took her spot opposite him. She was refusing to meet his gaze.

"Uhm…I think I lost count after 50 times or so…" She smiled nervously and Yami sighed again.

"Than why don't you listen?" Yami's words came out harsher than he'd intended but he couldn't stop them. He was irritated and annoyed. He let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed his temple before focussing on Kumiko again. "You're grounded for a week." Kumiko didn't look up but Yami could feel her aura becoming even sadder, a slight spark of anger maybe even.

Throughout the years the two siblings had been as close as siblings could get. When they were young Yami had always tried to protect her from everything, and even after Yoru's death they stayed close. Yami couldn't even remember the last time he'd punished Kumiko, and he doubted he actually ever really had.

He watched as Kumiko nodded slightly, looking up at him with sad eyes, "Can I still go to the park with Yuugi-kun?" She wasn't even using anything to convince him like she usually would, but Yami was too irritated to really care about it, "No, you´re going home and to your room."

Kumiko nodded again and left the room, leaving Yami to slump back in his chair and stare at the ceiling. Had he overreacted a bit too much? He had acted a bit too angry but she really needed to learn…

He stayed like that for a couple of minutes before sighing and looking back at the huge pile of work just taunting him from his desk. He grimaced. He definitely wouldn't be home before eight tonight. He swore he was going to kill Bakura for sending him home yesterday to propose to Yuugi; now he had even more work to do.

He shook his head before getting to work. The sooner he started the faster it would be done. And besides, it would take his mind off Kumiko.

* * *

Russet eyes followed as Kumiko passed by to leave the building. Bakura scowled at seeing the sad expression still on her face. So it had finally started huh? Well damn, that sucked. He let out a frustrated sigh before muttering something about going for a break to his co-workers and leaving, not caring about the protests the others gave.

Quickly making his way to another part of the building, Bakura didn't even bother to knock or explain himself, as he entered a room and dragged Mariku with him, muttering the same excuse to the surprised looking people around them before simply leaving again. Protests were once again ignored, even if some of them came from Mariku.

"Bakura?! What are you doing?!" Bakura just kept dragging the blonde with him as the other struggled to get free.

"Oh just come along, baka. Kumiko just walked out of the building all sad. Since when did Yami start punishing her?" Mariku's struggles ceased and the other suddenly started to walk alongside the white-haired demon.

"So what'd he do? I mean if she deserved it…" Mariku trailed off, looking at Bakura suspiciously.

"She walked into a meeting with that bitch what's-her-name-again and the woman scolded her some. Usually Yami would've gone down on his knees thanking whoever had interrupted that woman from whining, so this is new. He's getting more frustrated by the moment. He can't hold back much longer." They walked into a new office without bothering to knock, watching as the person they were now facing looked up from his phone call.

-"Mutou-san?"- Yuugi sighed at the two demons standing in front of him, before quickly turning back to the phone call.

"I'm sorry; my secretary just came in to remind that I have an important appointment. Is it alright if I call you back afterwards?" the person on the other line reluctantly agreed and Yuugi hung up, looking at Bakura and Mariku with a look that clearly stated: 'this-better-be-imporant'.

"Secretary?" Bakura scowled even more but decided against going further into it as they had better things to do right now. "It's starting."

Yuugi's eyes widened and he softly cursed under his breath. "You have to kidding me. Eight years he has no problems at all and now this?" Yuugi resisted the urge to bang his head on his desk.

"Well we all knew this was going to happen. I think the excitement of someone like Tsumi around is activating his powers. He can't handle it and he'll break sooner or later."

Mariku glanced out of the window for a second before grinning, "Let's unleash him on Hell when that comes. It'll be fun to see him killing everyone there."

Bakura whacked the blonde on the head. However tempting the idea was to him, they all knew it couldn't be done.

The reason why a demon with a soul would go insane wasn't just because he was surrounded by demons that did kill at will. The other reason was that the demon himself would at one point lose himself to his own powers. Although his soul would keep him from killing, his powers would eventually push him to do it in a fit of bloodlust. The demon would afterwards feel guilty for what he'd done, after finally snapping out of his rage. A guilt that mostly destroyed the demon. This process didn't stop though, it could repeat itself as many times as the demon's life allowed.

Ever since Bakura and Mariku had come to live with Yuugi and Yami, they had kept a close eye on the older of the two, checking to see if he wouldn't go into the bloodlust. They themselves had experienced it more than once but it had only been while they had lived in Hell. Since they didn't care about demons one bit their guilt had been kept to a minimum, if even there. If Yami would unleash his bloodlust while in the human world though… he was the strongest demon for a reason and no one would be able to stop him.

"We'll have to tell him." Yuugi sighed and leaned back in his chair, a grimace on his face. Great, no one had been able to spoil his happiness, hadn't been ever since Yami had proposed to him yesterday but this was definitely a damper on everything. If Yami would go into his bloodlust there would probably be no wedding at all.

Bakura snorted, "You want to go tell the guy that there's a possibility that he can't handle his powers and he'll start killing off everyone in sight. He'll just tell you to not worry and that he can handle it. Even I know him well enough for that." Mariku nodded in agreement.

"Well what then? We just go with the flow and we don't do anything?" Yuugi stood up and walked to the window to stare into Domino, "There are too many people here at risk. Just look outside and you can see that."

"Well, we were hoping God-dearest might have an answer." Yuugi gave Bakura an annoyed look. Soul or no soul, Bakura had never had any respect for God, and would never get it either. In any case, Yuugi had to grudgingly admit that Bakura was right. Yami wouldn't believe them and would just brush it off as not important. Maybe God was their only chance…

"Fine, I'll go but you have to keep an eye on him. If he does anything-"

"We'll knock him out." Bakura smirked at the thought. He knew he probably couldn't pull it off but it was good to dream. Yuugi snorted, having the same line of thoughts obviously, before casting a few spells. His wings sprouted out of his back as his angelic robes appeared. Another spell was cast to conceal him from mortal eyes before he walked to the window and opened it.

Before leaving, Yuugi turned back for a second, "What did he do anyway?"

Bakura too cast a quick spell to relay his memories of what had happened. Yuugi grimaced before quickly flying out of the window. No trip to the park for Kumiko and he then. No wonder the girl hadn't shown up.

"So you think God'll help?" Mariku wasn't really interested anymore, his short attention span kicking in once more. Bakura just snorted.

"Who knows? I don't get that guy one bit so we'll just have to wait and see. Come on, before anyone starts complaining we take too many breaks again."

Both left the office as if nothing had happened, going back to their work and ignoring the complaints that were thrown at them. Neither of them really cared about what anyone thought of them anyway.

* * *

Yuugi landed at the gate of Heaven and was easily let in by the two guards standing there. Both greeted Yuugi cheerfully, glad to see him back since Yuugi barely came to Heaven nowadays. Yuugi smiled back at them, greeting them with cheerfulness, even if it was just a show. He needed to get to Seto, _now._

Quickly making his way through Heaven, Yuugi stopped at the house that belonged to the brunette and his best friend. He was about to knock on the door when he hears small moans coming from the living room. He sweatdropped. Okay, he obviously picked a wrong time to come but he really needed their help right now.

Yuugi knocked, making sure to do it loud enough for even those two to hear. Stumbling was heard and a few groans as something – or maybe someone – hit the floor. Yuugi held back his laughter at all the noises as someone came up to the door.

A grumpy looking Seto with his robes opened slightly and hair a complete mess opened the door, a glare on his face to scare off anyone who had just interrupted him. Yuugi burst into laugher completely now and Seto's glare became harsher, even if he now recognized the person standing in front of him.

"What in Heaven's name are you doing here?" Joey came up behind, his state being similar to that of Seto's only his neck was littered in love-bites. Joey didn't glare like Seto had though. His eyes only lit up in happiness as he saw his friend.

"Well… I need some help…" Seto was about to open his mouth to make a nasty comment but Joey simply pushed him aside so Yuugi could enter,

"Don't mind Seto, you know how he can get. Want somethin' ta drink?" The glare Seto threw him was meant for killing purposes surely, but Joey simply ignored it.

"Thanks, Joey, but I think if I stay too long Seto will do something to me. I'm here for Seto really." The brunette looked mildly interested, glaring at his lover still more important to him than paying much attention to Yuugi.

"What do you want?" Joey gave his lover a quick, annoyed look before leading Yuugi into the house and into the living room. All sat, Joey quickly tried to straighten his robes as best he could but Seto didn't even bother with it.

"It's Yami." Yuugi started quietly. Seto's attention suddenly turned completely to Yuugi and Joey raised an eyebrow questioningly. Yuugi sighed again before telling them what Bakura and Mariku had taught him about demons with a soul. After he'd told them everything, he mentioned Yami's behaviour for the last two weeks or so.

"So we're gonna have a rampagin' Yami on our hands?" Joey's voice sounded nervous, obviously not really knowing what to do about the situation.

"Something like that. I've never seen a demon in bloodlust before so I have no idea what to expect really. His tempers come and go so I don't think it's going to happen tomorrow or anything." Yuugi looked at Seto, "Do you think you can talk to God about this? If he can't control himself anymore…"

Seto nodded before finally straightening his robes, obviously deciding that this is more important than what he'd been doing with Joey.

"I'll go talk to him right away." He glanced at the worried face of his friend. "Don't worry Yuugi, Yami's too stubborn to give into something like this."

Yuugi smiled weakly as Seto left the room and then the house, before turning his eyes to the ground sadly. Joey sat down next to him and rubbed his back gently, "Come on, you know Seto's right. It's one of his annoying qualities."

Yuugi smiled a little at his friend's comment, "I know, but I'm still worried. Bakura and Mariku said there isn't much you can do against this all so… what if he hurts people?"

Joey sighed, "Dose two are just nuts. Dey don't know what dey're talkin' about." Even though both knew that wasn't true, Yuugi just went with it for now. Illusions were sometimes better to keep up than thinking about the harsh reality.

"Thanks, Joey. I think I'm going to go back now. I hung up on someone important and I think he didn't really like that…" Yuugi chuckled a bit before standing up, "Sorry I took Seto away from you."

Joey shrugged, "I think he'll get back to me on dat as soon as he's talked ta God. Don't worry." He let Yuugi out of the house and watched his friend go with a frown. He hoped Seto would be back soon with an answer, for both Yuugi's and his sanity.

* * *

Seto carefully knocked on the doors to the throne room of Heaven, waiting to hear the permission to enter. For a second no answer came until the doors swung open. Seto calmly entered, bowing before the seemingly young man sitting on the throne.

"Please forgive me, but I have important news."

The man looked up from the book he'd been reading and raised an eyebrow at the brunette, "Seto, how many times have I told you not to bow and be so formal? I sure have lost count." The man pushed some of his long chestnut bangs out of his jade-green eyes before focussing back on Seto again, "What do you have to tell?"

Seto stood straight and looked at the man, "It's about Yami." The man's attention was immediately completely on Seto at hearing the name of the person he still didn't trust completely.

"Don't tell me he's gone all demonic after all." Seto chuckled and shook his head. God relaxed in his throne and nodded for Seto to continue.

"Bakura and Mariku fear he might be going into bloodlust soon. He's been acting temperamental and stressed. They fear he won't be able to stop it."

God frowned in thought. If Yami was to go into a state of bloodlust no one would be safe from him. To make matters worse, Yami knew how to get to Heaven on his own and could simply come here in that period too. Time after time the demonic Prince had proven that he was stubborn and wouldn't just give up, but the bloodlust was something not many could resist.

"I see, that is a problem." He let out a sigh before standing up and pacing around. There wasn't much to do at the moment really. He knew this time would come sooner or later but he'd hoped later rather than sooner.

"Is there even anything we can do?" Seto followed the tall chestnut-brown haired man with his eyes, seeing the thoughtful look on the other's face. They'd never even attempted to stop a demon in bloodlust. Mostly it happened when they were in Hell and demons would only get hurt. Less demons meant less worries for them so why even try to stop it.

"I don't know. Stress is one of the main causes why he would most likely lose his control so I suggest keeping him away from that and trying to relax him. Also, the threat of Tsumi will challenge him so keep him distracted from that. Other than that we can't do anything right now. If it gets too bad and he really can't control himself anymore, then I will have to take more drastic measures." Another frown came onto his face before he turned to Seto again.

Seto nodded before bowing once more and leaving. The blonde ruler watched him go before turning to sit on his throne and looking into the pool of water standing next to it. A quick spell was cast and an image of an annoyed Yami sitting behind his desk appeared. The crimson-eyed Prince was obviously frustrated and stressed because of all the work laying in front of him. Not really the relaxed state he should be in to keep his bloodlust in check.

'_At this rate he'll lose his control within the month…'_ God sighed and let the image fade away. He'd just have to keep a close eye on the other like he'd used to from now on. If Yami indeed lost control, he was probably the only one who could match up even a little. It was true that Yami was stronger than he was, and a demon in bloodlust only increased his power, but maybe he could delay the other so he'd calm down a bit more. After all, Yami was still human for the most part, not just demon. God had absolutely no idea what the bloodlust would do to someone like that, but he hoped the human side would calm down faster than with a normal bloodlust.

That was really all he could for now, hope. Hope that Yami would be able to keep himself in check and even if he lost control, it wouldn't be for too long.

* * *

**And that was it for this update. Wow, PLOT! There's actually PLOT in this chap! °sweatdrops° This is special, I usually postpone my plots until at least chap 4 or so... yeah, this calls for celebration. Not only for this, but in 3 chapters I haven't done a single cliffhanger! FEAR ME! MUWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!**

**Okay, all craziness over, I'm starting that party. Whoever wants to join me, come over! The entree is a review XD For those not coming, review ayway ne? **


	4. Chapter 3: Worsening

**Okay, I'm sure you're all very… frustrated that while I always try to update weekly this fic seems tob e cursed… ****°coughs° yeah. Well the good new is, no more exams and I passed them °grins° at least you didn't give up the updates for no reason ne? Bad new is, as some of you already know, my laptop is completely dead. This was the last chapter I'd send to my editor and could there fore get back. Until I get a new laptop and the information from the old one can be transferred to the new one, I have no chapter 4. I really hate rewriting and for reasons you'll all discover when I do post chap 4 I really refuse to rewrite that. In short, I can't update until I have a new laptop. No idea how long that's gonna take… °sighs in frustration° I'm very sorry about all this but I have no choice put to once more wait with updating after this chap. Well, I hope you enjoy the chap even with this news so R&R!**

* * *

**--: 03 :--  
Worsening**

"So in short, you two want all of us to come live in Yami's house so we can do most of his work so he won't get stressed out and in the end, won't go on a killing spree?" Ryou raised his eyebrow at Bakura and Mariku, both sitting lazily on a couch opposite him. Malik scowled in Mariku's lap – where he had once more been forced to sit by his look-alike – as Seto and Joey looked thoughtful.

"Basically," Bakura shrugged, "If we manage to keep him relaxed there's a chance that his human side will suppress the bloodlust. At least that's how much information I could get about half-breed demons. It doesn't happen that much and a human with demonic powers like Yami has never been around, but I'm hoping it will be the same for him."

"It could work, though his job will inevitably take its toll on him." Seto leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. "But I suppose it's better than just sitting back and not doing anything as he goes into his bloodlust. What did Yuugi say about the plan?"

"He agrees that it would be better if as much work as possible is taken away from Yami." Mariku hugged Malik closer to him, very much aware of the fact that he could spend more time with Malik if they started living in the same house. "There are more than enough rooms anyway, though I wouldn't mind sharing." Mariku grinned at Malik and the other shivered. Malik would definitely say it was out of disgust, but a small voice in his head would most likely contradict that by saying he really enjoyed that idea.

All angels glanced at each other – Malik being the exception as he was trying to get free from Mariku's death-hug – before nodding in silent agreement. "Sure, I'll go ask God if we can but I think he'll agree with the idea." Seto stood up and walked over to the door. He was sure God would agree with the idea, and just hoped that Yami wouldn't be too irritated, by now to not want them around.

"So how's he been doin'? It's been a week since his first signs showed so…" Joey shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he glanced at Bakura and Mariku. Mariku actually stopped his teasing of Malik and stiffened slightly as Bakura scowled. Not good signs at all.

"He's getting worse. The stress of the wedding, combined with the enormous amount of work he's getting at the moment, is stressing him to his limits. Not to mention that he's subconsciously feeling the threat of Tsumi and is responding to it. His demonic side is getting excited by the challenge." Bakura glared at the floor, a look not many would want on them.

"So how long do you think he can last?" Malik took his chance now that Mariku was distracted and ripped himself from the other's grip – Mariku sulking now that Malik was no longer there – before looking back at Bakura.

"I don't know. In one week's time he's gotten so annoyed that even Kumiko seems to want to keep her distance, and that's saying something with those two." Bakura sighed in annoyance, "I don't think he'll last too long."

All sighed and leaned back in their seats. Malik sat down next to Joey with an actual defeated look on his face. If Yami went into his bloodlust… he didn't even want to think about that.

An awkward and heavy silence fell over them as they waited for Seto to return. Joey was fiddling with his robes, Ryou was playing with his hands, Malik was glaring at the wall opposite him, Bakura was doing pretty much the same, and Mariku…well, he was humming. This time though, it wasn't a happy tune.

It wasn't until an hour later that Seto returned, his face not betraying anything of the conversation he'd just gone through. All looked up at him, trying to find any sign of the answer they wanted to know, but none showed. Seto simply sat down in the chair he'd been sitting in prior, a serious look on his face.

"Well, what happened?" Joey was never one for patience, and this whole ordeal was making his nerves stand on edge. He wanted to know what was going to happen and Seto was postponing a very simply answer far too long.

Seto gave the blonde a quick annoyed glare before refocusing his attention to the entire group. "God thinks the idea itself might work, but also thinks it could be dangerous if we fail. Not only would we most likely be killed, but Yami could easily come up to Heaven and kill everyone here." He let the information sink in for a second before continuing, "He's given us permission to go live on Earth for the time being, but he cautions us. We don't know much about the mortal culture and we can easily stick out. And that has to be avoided at all costs."

Relieved sighs were heard now that Seto had finally said they could go to Earth. Sure, it would be hard for the angels to adapt completely to the mortal culture, but if Bakura, Mariku, and Yuugi did it, so could they. The fact that demons kept a much closer eye on humans and that Yuugi had been studying the mortal culture for a long time before he went to Earth seemed to be of little importance to that statement.

"Well, I guess we're packin' den." Joey got up with a large grin plastered to his face, glad that he was finally going to be spending time with his best friend again. Even though they saw each other weekly now, he still missed the time they used to spend together before Yuugi went to live on Earth.

As Seto gave a curt nod, all angels left to go and pack their stuff. Bakura and Mariku gave each other a quick glance, before Mariku grinned and followed Malik, a merry tune once more coming from his throat. Bakura scowled at the idea of having an overly happy Mariku around him now that Malik was going to be living with them, but supposed it couldn't be helped.

He quickly glanced around him before going into the direction his own little look-like had gone, a small smirk playing on his face. Although he wasn't as obvious with his feelings as Mariku was towards Malik, Bakura had to admit to himself that he might've fallen for his quiet look-alike – something he would never admit out loud though. Only small glances and maybe certain dreams at night could betray his feelings, but all seemed to go unnoticed by the others.

The smirk on his lips widened as he saw Ryou not far ahead of him, completely unaware that Bakura was following him. Bakura grinned; he was going to have some fun before Yami killed them all for having invited the four angels to come live with them.

* * *

Yami rubbed his temple in annoyance as he walked to his front door late at night. Work had been trying to kill him for the past week and he swore it was succeeding. He'd become more irritable and moody, so much that even he had noticed. For some reason he couldn't stop himself though, and he had no idea what to do about it all.

With a soft groan he opened the door to the house, wanting nothing more than to take a long hot shower to try and relax some. Just some peace and quiet and no one yelling at him because the paperwork wasn't done yet. Like he could help it if everyone suddenly had so much of that paperwork for him.

As soon as he entered the house, and walked into the living room, he stared blankly, seeing not only Mariku, Bakura, and Yuugi there, but also Joey, Malik, Seto, and Ryou. It wasn't their get together night right? He couldn't have actually forgotten that much in all his stress.

"Yo!" Yami stared blankly at Joey grinning at him before the blonde went on his way upstairs. What he was going to do there? Yami doubted he even wanted to know.

After standing in the doorway for about a minute, just staring as all angels moved about with stuff, Yami finally decided he needed an explanation. He glanced around until he finally found Yuugi yelling something at Malik – he didn't really care what – and walked over with a scowl on his face. This was going to interrupt with his relaxation plans, and he really needed to relax.

"Aibou, what's going on?" Yuugi turned to face his lover and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. Yami's eyes narrow somewhat at the guilty look on the other's face, "Yuugi?"

"Well you see… they're going to live with us for a while to take some work off your hands since you've been stressing so much…" Yuugi gulped and tried to think of a way out of the house. Yami was going to explode in his current state, he just knew it.

Yami stared for a few seconds before glancing around at the angels walking around noisily. He looks back at Yuugi, his eyes narrowed even further, "You think that inviting some of the most noisy people of all time to help with work will help me stress less?" His voice was low and had a slight growl to it. Yuugi hoped with all his heart that Yami wouldn't be too far gone to actually attack yet.

"I'm sure they'll be quiet and-"Yuugi was interrupted as a crashing sound from upstairs was heard combined with yelling from both Malik and Joey. Yuugi laughed nervously again and he glanced up, no longer willing to continue that statement as Yami growled and glared up the stairs.

"They're leaving, _now._" Without giving Yuugi any time to protest to the statement, Yami walked away to take the long hot shower he wanted. Yuugi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Of course the others weren't leaving, they needed to be there, but he would really have to talk to them about being a little more quiet…

Never mind, this was going to be impossible. Joey and being quiet? No way in Hell was that ever going to happen. And he didn't really see Mariku going easy on Malik now that he had so many opportunities to molest the angel.

Everyone was going to die, _painfully_.

Yuugi let out another sigh as he shook his head and went upstairs to beg and plead with the others to be quiet if they wanted to live. He only hoped it would work.

After some begging, pleading, and since that didn't work, screaming, everyone agreed to try and be as quiet as possible. Yuugi let out a sigh of relief as he walked down the hall. Just before he could turn the corner and go downstairs again, he bumped into Yami who was standing in the hall and scowling in the direction he'd just come from. "Why are they still here?"

Yuugi gulped at the irritation in Yami's voice, "Like I said, they're here to help. I told them to be quiet so don't worry."

Yami's eyes narrowed further as he stared into the hallway before turning his gaze to Yuugi and sighing, trying his hardest to just relax a bit and not snap for once. This cost him all his self-control these days, but he managed to calm down after a few seconds.

"Yami?" Yami looked into worried amethyst eyes and sighed, smiling a little to try and reassure the other he wasn't mad.

"I'm just stressed, Yuugi. I have no idea why I'm so easily annoyed these days but I don't think them being around here will improve my mood much." Yami nodded his head in the direction of the other angels. Yuugi relaxed from his tense position. He'd been afraid Yami might actually attack someone, but it seemed that Yami had gotten control of himself again.

"They promised to be quiet and they're here to take some of that stress away so don't worry about them." Yuugi felt slightly guilty for not telling Yami the whole truth about why he was so stressed, but he and the others had decided not to. Yami would just say it wasn't that at all, so what was the point in it?

Yami just nodded at the comment before smirking, "Well there is another way to help me get rid of some stress." Yuugi blushed at the purred words, spluttering out excuses that he had to help the other's get settled in. Yami ignored it, throwing Yuugi over his shoulder and simply walking towards their room saying Bakura and Mariku could help the others.

The four angels and two demons in the mean time were looking for Yuugi. Needless to say, within minutes they stopped looking as they heard what was going on in Yami and Yuugi's room.

* * *

A crash was heard before two platinum blondes raced through the large mansion, the first one yelling at people to help him, the second grinning madly and trying to catch the first. It had been a week since the group of angels had moved into the mansion to try and take some stress away from Yami.

Yami swore they were only making it all worse.

Although the angels helped Yuugi arrange the wedding and he didn't have to do anything but give his opinion on certain things, the angels and demons argued fiercely over several things. Yami's headache had drastically increased because of this and his temper had only worsened further.

Another reason was that the angels had promised to take care of things like cooking and cleaning. This would be great except none of them really knew anything about the appliances they had to use for this and ended up destroying one thing or another trying to get what they were doing done.

The last thing was the fact that the angels knew almost nothing of human culture but couldn't be discovered. Every time one of them went missing or even said he'd go out for some reason Yami worried about what would happen. One of them could easily slip up with their meagre knowledge of this world and that could cost them all big time.

On top of these problems his work had gotten even more hectic than before. Some other company had managed to fuse with some smaller ones and now threatened their position in the stock market. A rivalry had started between the two companies and Yami had to try everything he knew just to keep them the largest one.

The little bit of stress relief he'd always found at home with Yuugi and Kumiko had been reduced. Yuugi was still there but was very busy with the wedding and trying to cover up for the other angels if they did something wrong. Kumiko seemed to be more out of the house than in these days. Yami had heard her talking enthusiastically about a boy she was hanging out with and by the tone of her voice, she'd fallen in love with him. Yami figured she spend most of her time with him now.

All of this together made his stress level rise all the more. Even when he tried his hardest nowadays he couldn't stay calm for more than a few minutes before snapping at someone. He was surprised no one commented on it and just let him go on, but in his moody state he couldn't really bring himself to care about it. All he wanted was for it all to stop. A long vacation to just relax and throw all his worries aside sounded very tempting, but with his company in the position it was in, he couldn't afford one.

Everyone around Yami could sense the bloodlust rising. Yami's temper was flaring and now he was being challenged by not only Tsumi, but this new company as well. Although the company had nothing to do with actual fighting, it was threatening a position Yami had gained and no demon liked being surpassed once he'd claimed such a high rank.

All swore they were trying to help Yami as much as possible, but knew their arguing was driving the other insane all the more. The idea of going back to Heaven had already come up, but they knew that without them around, the tasks they'd taken over from Yami would bring about the same end results. They were all becoming more pessimistic about Yami getting through this period without actually going into his bloodlust, but kept trying nonetheless.

After seeing Malik race into the living room where he'd just sat down to get away from everyone for a while, Yami shot up with a snarl on his face, his eyes turning the deep shade of garnet in anger, "_If you don't get the hell out of here right now I swear I'm going to kick you out the painful way!_" Malik's eyes widened as he quickly turned around, racing past Mariku who had just entered as well and dragging him along. Yami was in no state to be bothered, and Malik wanted to stay unharmed. He might hate running away from a fight, but in this case he'd gladly make an exception.

Yami growled in irritation and fell back onto the couch, his head in his hands as he tried to calm himself. _'Get a hold of yourself, Yami. You're going to kill someone at this rate.'_

Yami grimaced at that thought. He felt the urge to at least hurt and possibly kill someone far too often for his liking, but he just couldn't suppress the urge. He'd had to rip himself away from his friends to be wreck something other than them multiple times just so he wouldn't give in.

"I'm going insane, I swear." Yami shook his head and took a deep breath before he heard the front door open and people coming in. He recognized Kumiko's voice easily, happily chatting to whomever she'd brought home, but didn't know the voice answering her. It was a male voice though, so he could only guess this was the guy Kumiko had been ranting about so much.

The door to the living room opened as Kumiko and the other boy – Ayashige was it? – came in. Yami tried his best to calm himself so he wouldn't scare his sister's crush away; Kumiko would never forgive him.

"Yami, I thought you'd be at work." Yami turned around and managed to smile with all his effort at his sister's somewhat reluctant form, the boy she'd been talking with standing slightly behind her.

"I had to get away from an hour or I would've jumped out of the window." Although his voice sounded joking, Yami swore it was the truth.

Kumiko relaxed somewhat at seeing her brother in a seemingly good mood. She thanked God for the timing Yami had chosen for that good mood, as she was sure Ayashige wouldn't have reacted well to the moody Yami that had been around for the past two weeks.

She turned to her friend and smiled as she pointed at Yami, "That's my brother, Yami. He's been taking care of me for practically my whole life." Kumiko turned back to Yami and smiled at him, "this is Ayashige-kun. He's the boy I told you about."

Yami nodded and got up to shake the other's hand. As soon as their hands touched an unknown feeling surged through his veins and Yami jerked back, glaring at Ayashige as alarm bells rang loudly in his head. He didn't know how exactly he knew, but this boy was no good. There was just something very wrong about him.

Ayashige blinked as Yami jerked back so suddenly, before slightly backing away at the glare suddenly being aimed at him. Kumiko looked between them in alarm, trying to figure out what had gone wrong before turning pleading eyes onto Yami. They were unseen as Yami's eyes narrowed further.

"Who are you and what do you want with my sister!" Ayashige cowered under the intense gaze and looked at Kumiko in panic. Kumiko shot him a helpless expression before once more looking at her brother.

"Yami, he's just someone from school. What's go-" she was cut off by the same glare Yami was giving Ayashige. She couldn't get another word from her lips as soon as Yami looked at her. Never had Yami glared this intensely at her before.

Yami's gaze went back to Ayashige, "I don't know what you want but I know it's not good. _Get out!_" Ayashige backed away further, glancing from Kumiko to Yami in fear. Kumiko gave a last desperate look at her brother to try and calm him but to no avail. She bit her lip as she turned to Ayashige and gave him a look that clearly stated he should leave before something happened.

Ayashige gave her a worried look, obviously concerned if she'd be okay with someone like Yami. Kumiko just smiled weakly, "Go, I'll be fine."

Reluctantly the teen turned away and left the house. Yami's temper calmed somewhat but didn't leave. What was Kumiko thinking, hanging out with a guy that so obviously was no good!?

"Why did you do that?!" Kumiko looked at Yami angrily. Yami had seemed perfectly okay just before he shook Ayashige's hand. Then he'd suddenly rounded on the boy as if he was the devil himself. Kumiko's confusion was overruled by her anger. She didn't care _why_ Yami had done it, she only cared _that_ he'd done it.

"He's no good; I can't believe you were hanging out with him. He could've hurt you!" Yami quickly sensed if Kumiko was in any kind of pain but only felt anger radiating off her. The hurt he was trying to find was there as well, but it was not physical.

"No good? He's just someone from school! You've been acting like a jerk for the past two weeks and now you even scare off the guy I like! How could you!" Tears ran from Kumiko's eyes, not only because of hurt but mostly because of anger. Yami might've just ruined her chances with Ayashige and she would never forgive him for that. _Never_.

"I forbid you to see him again!" Yami's eyes narrowed, "I don't want you getting hurt and I know there's something about him that's wrong."

Before Yami could say anything else Kumiko slapped him across the face. Yami's temper temporally faded as he stared in shock at his crying sister. Only now did he realize what exactly he'd just done, and what it must mean for Kumiko.

Any attempt to apologize was ruined as Kumiko looked up at him with furious eyes, "I hate you!" Yami froze as Kumiko ran away to her room, tears still streaming down her cheeks as she sobbed. Yami just stood there, staring at the spot Kumiko had just been in as he fully processed what had just happened. Kumiko had slapped him, and then told him she hated him. Never before had they been in a real fight, but it seemed this one would last for quite a while. Kumiko was never one to say something like she just had.

"Fuck."

* * *

** Okay, fanfiction is acting up and the edit system is eating away at chapters. If anything seems out of order, please tell me so I can fix it, cuz there's a possibility that it got deleted by the demned system. Well, see you all whenever I get that laptop. Review!**


	5. Chapter 4: Snapping?

**Okay, I have a new laptop. I hate it already v.v;; Furthermore, this chapter had to be rewritten after all because my old hard-drive died. They thought it was still okay but apparently not °grumbles darkly under breath° Well, you're all going to hate me and you'll all know soon enough why I didn't want to rewrite this chapter... which I had to do after all. Good luck thinking of ways to kill me! I'm off to find a hiding place. ****°runs off° **

* * *

**--: 04 :--  
Snapping?**

Yami stumbled to the front door, his head feeling dazed and his senses clouded to the point where he hardly knew what was going on around him. The only sensation that constantly ran through his veins was the urge to hurt something; kill something.

The need to feel someone else's blood run over his body and taste it as it trickled down his throat.

His sense of time had greatly dimmed, but vaguely he remembered that this feeling had been settling in for some time now. Since his fight with Kumiko two days prior it had become too strong to suppress. In the beginning he had wondered why the feeling was settling in, but now his mind hardly bothered to think of much of anything anymore.

Yami's company, although barely and with a lot of effort, was still the number one. To keep it that way, Yami had to work late nights to get all his work done and this made him more irritable afterwards. The moment Yami stepped through the door of his house he heard the clock strike 3 in the morning, and his mood only worsened.

Yuugi looked up as soon as he heard the door open and rubbed his eyes. He'd been watching TV while waiting for Yami to come home, but had been dozing off slightly since it had become so late. All the others had already gone to bed and were most likely asleep by now. It somewhat unnerved Yuugi to be alone with Yami these days, considering the behaviour the other displayed now, but he didn´t want to show this nervousness in his own behaviour.

One look into his lover's crimson eyes and Yuugi involuntarily moved back a little. Yami's eyes looked far more clouded than they had that morning, and Yuugi knew the other was in no state to even be standing. Whatever was going to happen next would not be good most likely.

"Hey Yami." The younger nervously got off the couch, trying to steady his voice as much as he could to not give away anything, "I see work kept you up late again huh?"

Yami didn't answer at first, merely staring at Yuugi intently, his thoughts and emotions unreadable, before he stepped forward to stand right in front of his look-alike. "Yes, and I think I need some stress relief from all that." The tone in Yami's voice held nothing but lust, the usual playfulness or love nowhere to be found. Yuugi swallowed thickly, once more taking an involuntary step backwards.

Yami grinned, smelling the fear coming off Yuugi as he ran his eyes over the body in front of him. He briefly licked his lips and dimly noted that certain teeth seemed to have gotten longer as if he now had fangs, but paid it no heed.

"Come on, _Aibou_. Let's go upstairs." Without being able to protest, Yuugi was swung over Yami's shoulder as the latter of the two set off to their bedroom. Yuugi squirmed and protested, though he didn't want to wake up anyone else in the house. If one of the others found Yami in this state who knew what they would do. They all knew that Yami was getting far too close to the point of no return, and if they caught even a glimpse of Yami like this, Yuugi didn't even want to know what they'd do to stop Yami, and what Yami would in turn do to defend himself.

Without the slightest care for the protests coming from Yuugi, Yami continued his way to their bedroom, throwing Yuugi on the bed before walking back to the door and locking it. A maniacal grin once more split his face as he turned back to the bed, seeing Yuugi with a somewhat fearful look on his face. The desire he'd been feeling for so long now seemed to grow at the sight and smell of fear, and Yami felt lightheaded.

He wanted more of that feeling and he wanted to give in to the desire to taste someone else's blood running down his throat.

He _needed_ to taste it.

With that as his only thought, Yami walked over to the bed, Yuugi's protests increasing, his reasoning sounding more and more nervous. Yami could barely even make out what Yuugi was saying and simply dismissed the words. Yuugi was _his_. He could do whatever he wanted to the other.

Without letting Yuugi get another word out, Yami kissed the other as he lay down. He felt the body beneath him relax a little, though a certain tenseness stayed. Yami ignored it as he let his hands roam the body beneath him, the clothes Yuugi was wearing preventing him from feeling the other's flesh.

Annoyed at this but unwilling to break the kiss, Yami subconsciously let his nails grow out, the points sharp and ready to cut through anything. Without care Yami ripped through the clothes, his nails also scraping Yuugi's skin in the process.

Yuugi's body immediately tensed at the pain as a small trail of blood trickled from the wound. At the smell Yami immediately pulled away and looked at it. His eyes grew darker as he watched the red liquid flow and his desire surged through his body.

His mind didn't even process the pleads Yuugi was making as Yami bend down and licked the blood away, the pleasurable lightness in his head immediately increasing. Yami's sense dimmed completely as only one thought remained.

He wanted more blood.

Yami's teeth scraped over Yuugi's skin further as his nails purposefully dug into the pale skin. Yuugi cried out and whimpered, trying to get out of Yami's grip but the older was holding him too tight. He could sense the other's aura changing from dazed to something he had never felt before, but instantly recognized.

Bloodlust. Yami had tasted his blood and was not going to stop this until he was sated. It was not the full version where Yami would go on a killing spree just to see blood flow, but the last stage before that would happen. Yuugi knew Yami would go into the actual Bloodlust without doubt now, and it wouldn't be long after tonight.

Crying out again as Yami nipped his pulse roughly to draw blood, Yuugi turned away in an attempt to distance himself from what was happening. His screams and whimpers seemed to only encourage Yami to continue, but he couldn't help them from passing his lips. He knew what was coming, and he couldn't believe it was actually happening.

Within mere minutes both Yuugi and Yami's clothes lay ripped apart next to the bed. Tears were flowing freely from the younger's eyes as the older continued to drift further and further into his daze. Blood was flowing from wounds Yuugi knew were deep enough to leave scars as the younger was quite suddenly turned on his stomach.

Yuugi tried to catch himself on his arms but before he could do anything he felt Yami's weight on top of him again. Without the slightest bit of warning or preperation Yami thrust into him, tearing another pain-filled cry from the younger. Once more it only seemed to increase the pleasure Yami was in as the older began to thrust harshly.

Yuugi clenched his eyes shut as he tried to stay silent, a pain that felt like he was being torn apart from the inside spreading through his body and making this almost impossible.

For minutes this went on as Yami attacked the unmarred skin on Yuugi's back as well, blood soon running over the pale skin. Yuugi felt himself become dizzy and knew it was because he was losing so much blood. His attempts at getting away had ceased some time ago because it was simply useless, but now Yuugi doubted he'd even have the energy to try anything.

More time passed before Yami finally came with a satisfied growl. He didn't bother to pull out of Yuugi, simply letting himself fall on top of the other as he closed his eyes with a sated look on his face. Before long he was already asleep, snoring lightly.

Gathering all the energy he had left, and some he didn't even think he had, Yuugi carefully slipped out from under Yami, crumbling to the ground as soon as his feet came in contact with it. He bit back a sob, knowing he had to remain quiet so Yami wouldn't wake up and repeat what had just happened, and dragged himself to the bathroom.

He crawled into the shower, letting burning hot water soak him and wash away all the blood still clinging to his body. The water was far too hot but Yuugi just wanted all traces to be gone, even though he knew this would be impossible with the wounds still visible.

He sobbed freely, his tears barely visible as they mingled with the water crashing down on him, and curled up in a corner of the bathtub that was still under the stream of water. He wanted to forget everything that had just happened and what it meant would happen later, but the pain still screaming throughout his body wouldn't allow it.

He had no idea how long he had been curled up in the bathtub when he finally stopped crying or how long it took him after that to make up his mind about everything. All he really knew was that he had to tell the others what had happened that night so they all knew what he knew as well.

There would be no stopping Yami from going into his Bloodlust.

* * *

"Hey, has anyone seen Yuug yet? I thought he'd be gettin' ready for work by now." Joey glanced around the group of friends that were all sitting aroud the kitchen table. Everyone shrugged, not knowing either but assuming Yuugi's schedule had changed so he could sleep in or something. 

"I'll go check on him," Ryou got up from his chair but before he could take another step his eye caught sight of someone coming down the stairs, "Never mind, there he is." Ryou smiled at the figure before his mood dropped. He could see Yuugi was limping a little and clutching his body with both arms as if to protect it.

Everyone had turned at Ryou's words and saw the same thing, eyes widening as they also caught sight of scars and bruises on their friend's arms. Everyone immediately rose and rushed over to the other.

"Yuugi, what happened?!" Malik's eyes ran over the rest of Yuugi's body but his view was blocked by the clothes the other wore. Yuugi's aura was screaming pain though, so he knew the scars and bruises on his friend's arms were not the only wounds.

As Yuugi reached his friends he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm himself and to try and keep as much pain from his voice as possible before speaking, "Yami..." His eyes opened again and he saw shock in eveyone's eyes, though some hid it better than others.

"Wait... that idiot Yami did this?" Bakura narrowed his eyes, knowing what that meant.

Yuugi merely nodded before trying to walk to the couch, wanting to just sit even though he knew it would hurt. The others stayed silent, helping him to sit down and seeing him wince and whimper as soon as he did.

"Yuug… did he…?" Joey didn't want to actually voice his thoughts and looked hesitantly at his best friend, hoping the other would contradict him. Yuugi just closed his eyes and nodded again, obviously not able or willing to voice Joey's thought eigther. All present knew exactly what was meant though.

A heavy silence ruled over the group for a few moments before Yuugi opened his eyes again and looked at Ryou. "Uhm... do you think you could heal me up a bit?" he smiled awkwardly and Ryou immediately rushed over to comply. Yuugi gave his friend a grateful smile, "Thanks."

Before anything else could be said, Joey rose from his seat with a glare on his face, "I'm gonna kick his ass for dis!" he was already walking towards the door as Bakura rolled his eyes and Yuugi protested.

"Joey, no!" The blonde turned back with an annoyed look that clearly stated he didn't want to stop. Yuugi sighed, shaking his head.

"He can't help it, it's the Bloodlust. Yami would never do this..." Yuugi sighed again as he looked down at the ground, grateful that Ryou's spells were taking effect and the pain in his body was decreasing rapidly.

"Can't help it?!" Joey glared, "De guy freakin' _raped_ ya! How can you be defendin' him?!"

Bakura scoffed, "Haven't you been paying attention to what Mariku and I have been saying for quite some time now? A demon in Bloodlust doesn't know what the hell he's doing. This was obviously the second last stage of his Bloodlust and therefore I think it's obvious that he isn't sane enough anymore to actually know what he's doing."

Another silence fell as Ryou finished up healing Yuugi. The latter flashed another grateful smile at his friend, the pain in his body gone though he knew some of the scars were still visible, never to go away again.

"So what are we going to do now?" Malik glanced around, for once not knowing what to do or what to say. Everyone else present glanced at each other before Yuugi sighed.

"He won't last long, there's a chance he'll snap even today. We can't stop him obviously, so we have to take him somewhere else so he can rage there."

A smirk immediately broke out on Bakura's face, "Hell, he can go demon killing. I don't think any of us mind if some demons get killed by all of this, and I'm sure Yami won't be so guilty about it either." A grin immediately appeared on Mariku's face as well as the blonde imagined all the demons dying at Yami's hands.

"Well, I guess it's better than letting him loose in this world..." Yuugi sighed and smiled weakly, "Besides, he's still their ruler so he has the right to kill them off anyway." He chuckled dispite himself.

"Good, now that that's settled, we need a plan; Yami isn't just going to come willingly if he's that far gone," Bakura looked pointedly at Yuugi. No one argued the statement, "so let's start planning."

* * *

Yami growled in annoyance at his computer screen. He'd been sitting in the office day in day out and what did he get in return? Some useless money. If he wanted something, couldn't he just steal it? After all, a few spells and he could break into anyplace he wanted. Once more he considered throwing the computer in front of him out of the window. 

He had already gotten up, hands grabbing the computer to finally comply with what he'd wanted to do for weeks, when a burst of flames caught his attention. Flames of this size bursting out of nowhere could only mean one thing, and that was a demon visiting him.

It seemed some demons actually had a death wish.

A woman around her thirties appeared from the flames and Yami didn't even bother to wait until she would speak. For whatever reason she was here, he didn't care. He'd given a warning for demons to stay away from him and he was really in no mood to deal with them right now.

A shriek sounded as the woman dodged the blast send at her with unhuman speed. Yami growled; now he couldn't even blow a simple demon up? This really wasn't doing anything for his mood.

"Bastard. You might want to listen to the guests you get here before blowing them up or you'll never earn any money." The woman glared at him but Yami returned the look tenfold.

"I warned all demons to get the fuck out of my life so fuck off." His voice had turned to a growl, sounded gruff and nothing like what it had sounded before.

"Well fine, I guess you don't care about your little sister getting killed then. Bye now." Though his clouded mind, Yami still registered the mention of Kumiko. His Bloodlust faded somewhat though it barely showed in his body language or voice.

"What the hell did you do to Kumiko?!" The demon found herself pinned to the wall, claws digging into her skin as she stared into garnet-coloured eyes. Yami's fangs were bared and some of his shadow powers formed a slight aura around him. All the woman did was smirk.

"I see even in this state you care for her. Good, that will make this all so much easier. Tsumi has her and he'd like to talk to you. If-" She didn't get to say anything else as she burst into black flames. Yami straightened, the magic he'd just used fading away. Killing the demon had made him feel good, better than he'd felt in quite a while, with maybe the exception of last night. And with Tsumi daring to kidnap his sister, there was soon to be another death.

At that point his door burst open and all his housemates stormed in. Yami glanced at them and narrowed his eyes at the feel of magic beaming off them. Were they going to attack him?

"Yami, I'm going to do something I've wanted to do for quite a while." Bakura grinned as he send a spell Yami's way. Malik scowled as he and Ryou quickly put up the barriers to keep everything safe and everyone outside of the room unknowing of what was going in. So much for waiting until that barrier was safely up.

Yami's eyes narrowed further as he simply blocked the blast, barely even feeling any sting. "You come in here to kill me?! And I see no one trying to stop you. So much for friends. Now why the fuck are you trying to kill me while Kumiko was _kidnapped_?!" Everyone in the room paused in their actions. Bakura and Mariku held the curses they'd been about to throw Yami's way as Yuugi broke the spell he'd been preparing to bind his lover. All stared at Yami in confusion as the garnet-eyed man scoffed.

"I'll make sure to return that favour as soon as I'm back, Tomb Robber." Without another word Yami burst into black flames, shadows rapidly wrapping around him as he transported to Hell.

"What just happened?" Joey stared at the spot Yami had just left dumbfounded.

Yuugi's senses worked fast in trying to locate Kumiko, trying to figure out if what Yami had said was true or if they'd just missed their chance for nothing. His eyes widened as he sensed the girl in Hell. "Fuck, Kumiko's in Hell!"

Bakura's eyes narrowed as he sensed as well before cursing, "She's with Tsumi. Well that's just dandy." A sudden smirk appeared on his face. "On the other hand, I still have a score to settle with him."

Mariku grinned at Bakura's last remark, "Does that mean we get to kill some more demons?" His look resembled an excited 5-year old who'd just been told they were going to Disneyworld.

"Yes, yes it does." Bakura and Mariku were gone before anyone could say something.

"Guys!" Yuugi sighed in defeat and rubbed his face. Great. Kumiko was kidnapped, Yami had escaped, and Bakura and Mariku just took off without so much as a plan. This had 'doom' spelled all over it.

"Eh… Yuug? What are we gonna do?" Joey glanced at his younger friend, obviously wanting to go 'kick some demon ass' as he usually put it. Yuugi shook his head, "Well, if we're going to die, why not all together." He grumbled some curses under his breath.

"Oh come on, we can take anything. And since Yami's already in Hell now we won't even have to do that part. Now all we've got to do is keep him there." Malik grinned, the prospect of being able to beat some demons up very appealing to him.

All angels quickly released their full power before white magic enveloped them and transported them to Hell.

What they saw was not pretty.

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**For all those who still don't get why I didn't feel like rewriting this, you're a bunch of retards. For all of you who want to kill me, get a number cuz there are many people waiting before you. °sweatdrops° To my defense, I hated writing that. I doubt this will stop you from killing me, but oh well; gotta try something ne?  
Minus the _liiiiiittle_ tidbit at the beginning, I hope you all enjoyed this. Updated will actually start up again! Yes, _fear me!_ I'll see you all next week - unless I actually get killed of course - and R&R! **


	6. Chapter 5: Soulless

**Well, I didn't get that many death-threats. ****That either means you're all a bunch of sadists or you don't care about Yuugi at all °sweatdrops° Well anyway, to continue in the oh-so happy spirit set in the last chapter, more happiness is coming in this chapter! For those of you who didn't notice, yes, that's complete and utter sarcasm. Well, hope you all enjoy the coming chap and R&R!**

* * *

**--: 05 :--  
Soulless**

Tsumi grinned at the girl in his lap, currently playing with his hair and trying her best to seduce him. The oh-so innocent Kumiko had undergone a complete character change and all it had taken was a bit of Lust.

Tsumi wasn't called the master of the seven sins for nothing. He fought by infecting his enemies with a sin and watching them destroy themselves with it. The more of the sin he infected them with, the faster the process would go.

He had only infected Kumiko with a little Lust, but the girl had reacted to it greatly. The amount in her would need years to consume her and in the end kill her off, yet by her behaviour you'd think he'd injected a lot more. Tsumi vaguely wondered why it had affected the girl so much, but he was having too much fun to really care.

"Oh come on Shige-chan. We'll have a lot of _fun_ together." He found it very amusing that Kumiko would still call him 'Shige' even though she by now knew his name was Tsumi. Even more so since she'd been yelling for him to get 'the hell away' from her when he'd first taken her to Hell, while she was now trying to get him into bed.

Oh yes, he definitely liked this character a lot more. Sadly he couldn't do anything with her right now. She was bait for Yami, and if he found out that he'd gone too far with the girl, not even threatening to kill Kumiko would snap the other demon out of his rage most likely.

"Now, now, I don't think your brother would like to find us that way." An eye roll and Kumiko pressing herself even closer was his only answer. Tsumi mentally chuckled. Maybe he could have just a little bit of fun?

Before he could do anything a flash caught his eyes as he saw fire appearing out of nowhere. The flames melted away to leave the person Tsumi'd been waiting for in their wake. Rage-filled garnet met his eyes as he glanced up.

"You got here faster than I had expected. I guess I don't have to expect the messenger to come back any time soon." He smirked cockily as he wrapped an arm around Kumiko's waist, the girl purring in delight in response.

Yami's eyes darkened further if possible, "What did you do to Kumiko? _Tell me!_" His nearly non-existent temper had already flared.

"Me? She's the one that wants sex here. I've been refusing it. You should really thank me instead of making plans to kill me." Tsumi stood up, his arm not leaving Kumiko's waist as he smirked at Yami, "It seems like she's just _lusting_ after me."

Yami's eyes narrowed as he growled. The urge to kill Tsumi grew stronger and stronger the longer he stood there. "If you don't turn her back _right now_ I'll make sure there's not even enough left of you to identify it's really your corpse after you're dead!"

Tsumi chuckled as he turned more to Kumiko, wrapping his other arm around her as well, "But if you kill me, who's going to turn her back to normal? If I don't do it she'll kill herself eventually. And you wouldn't want that, now would you?" He gave Yami a mocking look as Kumiko nuzzled his face, her hands running over his chest in an attempt to get more attention.

Yami growled once more, but didn't attack. Inside he was debating whether or not Kumiko was worth not killing Tsumi over right now, but his human side was too strong to let anything happen to the girl. With hatred and rage still burning in his eyes, Yami's posture relaxed to a stance that didn't scream: 'about to attack'.

"Fine, what do you want?" Tsumi grinned, an evil twinkle lighting his black orbs.

"What do all demons want? Power of course. And you have that power." He was somewhat surprised as Yami snorted and rolled his eyes at the answer, but didn't show it.

"You can have my father's throne, I've never cared one bit for it." If this was all the other wanted, this had all been for nothing. Even if the other hadn't been threatening Kumiko, Yami would've gladly given the other the demonic throne.

Tsumi mentally frowned at the answer. It seemed his suspision about Yami stopping him when he'd take over the demonic world had been wrong; the other really didn't care. Well, there was something else he wanted.

"The throne isn't the only thing I want, I want your soul. If I have that no one will be able to stop me. Since you saved your two friends when I tried to take theirs, I think it's only fitting I get yours first now." Tsumi watched carefully as he saw yet another debate going on in Yami's eyes. Doubt flickered across the garnet depths but resolution was far stronger. Resolution for what though, Tsumi had no idea. To save Kumiko, or to kill him?

Yami's eye twitched and he bared his fangs as he spoke next, "If you release Kumiko from whatever spell you have her under, you can have my soul." It would turn him into a mere shell, a body that couldn't do anything. He'd researched the effects of the spell Tsumi had been about to use when he'd saved Bakura and Mariku from him, and knew it was unavoidable. Even so, Kumiko was more important to him than anything.

Tsumi smirked, turning to Kumiko, "Sorry dear, it seems you're worth a lot more to him than even I thought." He mockingly kissed the girl while removing the Lust he'd put into her. Kumiko's posture stiffened and her eyes grew wide the second the Lust was out of her and she scrambled away from him, fear once more evident on her face.

"Stay away from me you demon!" Tsumi chuckled. She'd been the one seducing him after all, not the other way around.

"Of course, now that I have what I wanted I don't need you anymore." He turned his attention back to Yami who hadn't moved from his spot, though his eyes were fixed on Kumiko to make sure she was alright. Tsumi's expression turned wicked, "Now then, you're mine."

Power surged through his veins as he prepared for the spell he'd need, soft words muttered under his breath as he aimed for the official demonic heir. Yami didn't move an inch, his gaze still trained on his sister as the girl stared at them with wide eyes.

Just as Tsumi launched the spell, two more flames appeared, Mariku and Bakura flashing out in an attempt to push Yami away before the spell would hit. They were too late as Tsumi hit his target dead on, a pained scream tore from Yami's lips as his soul was torn away from his body.

"Fuck! We're too late!" Bakura stopped his mad dash for Yami and turned in Tsumi's direction, attacking the other now that his spell was still fusing Yami's soul with Tsumi's power.

"Ghe, too late fool." Tsumi's wings flared out as he jumped into the air, new power rushing through his body as the shadow aura Yami usually had to protect him burned around him. He couldn't believe the amount of power he felt running through him now and basked in the feeling it gave him.

Yami's body fell to the ground in a lifeless heap, eyes closed and not even a grunt coming from him as he hit the ground. Mariku growled at the sight before attacking Tsumi together with Bakura. Every kick and punch was blocked as Tsumi laughed at their efforts. Every spell and curse was deflected with the greatest ease, and only then did Bakura and Mariku understand just how powerful Yami had really been. They'd sparred against the other but never had they seen his full power.

Until now, and sadly it was in another's hands.

"Do you two really think you can measure up to me now? I'm the most powerful demon to have ever lived! I'm more powerful than Yami, the one who killed former overlord Aknunkanon! No one can beat me!" Tsumi's aura flared and with merely that, Bakura and Mariku were thrown into a wall. Both groaned as they glared at teen before them.

Their gaze was drawn to another figure in the room and their glares turned to looks of amazement. Tsumi didn't even bother looking at what they were staring at, confident that whatever it was, it couldn't beat him.

"Stronger?" The teen demon blinked at the gruff voice and turned around in shock. In front of him, standing tall and power surging around him, was Yami. His eyes looked even more clouded than they had before and his fangs were fully grown and bared now. His fingernails had hardened to a point where they could easily be compared to a demon's claws, the connection to the fingers stronger so no pain would be felt if they were used in an attack.

"What the- You're supposed to be nothing more but a soulless doll! You shouldn't be able to stand without a command and you shouldn't possess any power!" Tsumi couldn't believe what he was seeing. Had his spell failed somehow? Had it only half worked?

Yami didn't seem to fully comprehend what was going on or what Tsumi was talking about. The only thing running through his mind was that he wanted to kill, maim, and destroy. This boy seemed to be challenging him.

No one challenged the son of the demonic overlord without paying for it.

Without warning Yami's shot forward, his moves faster than they'd ever been. Tsumi was caught off guard by the attack and was easily kicked into a wall, a shadow ball hitting him soon after with full force.

Tsumi quickly recovered, but Yami was already in front of him again. A punch to the teen's stomach threw him off guard once more before he felt yet another kick throwing him into another wall.

He was being thoroughly beaten as if it were nothing. He didn't understand how Yami could still be standing, let alone fighting and actually beating him. He'd received the power that had been Yami's, so why was he still losing?

His thinking was slowing his moves down as he tried to attack Yami, the crimson-eyes demon easily dodging the blow before casting a spell on him to stun him temporarily. Even though it wouldn't hold for long, it was more than enough time for Yami to create a shadow ball with enough power to blast the other through the wall he'd already crashed into earlier.

Madness danced in Yami's eyes as he turned to the demon servants Tsumi had gathered. He dived for them, his nails easily cutting one to shreds before he quickly turned and killed another with a lash of energy. More and more fell as the demons hopelessly tried to defend themselves to no avail.

Bakura and Marku stared wide-eyed at the scene, staying hidden in the shadows in an attempt to avoid their rampaging friend.

"He's… he's…" Bakura couldn't even finish the simple line he wanted to say.

Mariku stared as well, though awe was evident in his eyes. Death, chaos, and demons being killed were some of the things he loved. Whether he was doing it or watching it didn't matter much to him. "In bloodlust." He finished. The mad look and increase in power was more than enough to suggest it, though how Yami was even moving was a mystery to him.

"Guys? What's going o-on?" Both looked down to see Kumiko curled up against the wall, terrified off what was happening. First she'd been kidnapped by someone she'd been crushing on, that turned out to be a demon, then she was hit by some weird spell and the next thing she knew she was kissing the guy. After that, that same demon had fired a spell at her brother that had seemingly killed him, but now Yami was killing left and right with a look in his eyes she couldn't place. This was not her brother anymore, of that she was certain.

"I have absolutely no idea actually." Bakura admitted flatly. "All I know he's finally snapped and gone into Bloodlust. He'll be killing for a while so we better make sure he doesn't notice us. Luckily, as long as he's like that his senses are clouded so if we stay here he shouldn't see us.

Kumiko nodded, trying to push herself against the wall even more. She didn't want to see her brother like this, and she regretted ever doubting if the Bloodlust was really the cause of Yami's attitude change. It was quite obvious it had indeed been what had changed him so much.

White flashes shot into the room as all the angels appeared next to Bakura and Mariku, none moving as they stared at the scene in front of them.

"Wha-" Yuugi's mouth was covered by Bakura's hand before the angel could scream and give away where they were. Clouded senses or not, Yami would hear it if Yuugi were to scream something.

"Hush if you want to survive this. A demon in Bloodlust will kill_ anyone,_ even the one he loves most of all." Yuugi's eyes widened even more as he realized what was going on. He took a step back as he caught a glimpse of the look on Yami's face. Madness was an understatement in his opinion, Yami looked far worse.

"What happened?" Seto narrowed his eyes, muttering a spell that would conceal them better. He didn't feel like becoming demon bait.

"He was hit by the spell that Tsumi uses to get souls to add to his power. Somehow though, Yami's still able to do as he pleases even if he lost his soul. He kicked Tsumi's ass and blasted him out of the room. I don't know if he's still alive really." Bakura relaxed a bit with the new spell in place but kept a ready stance. He wasn't going to go down without a fight if it came to that.

"What the- How the _hell_ did he do that?!" Malik stared in shock. All flinched at his volume and snapped their attention to Yami to see if the other had heard the blonde's cry.

Yami had just killed the last of the servants as Malik cried out and his head snapped in their direction, eyes still burning with a need to kill. He straightened as he focussed on the group before grinning.

More to kill. And there were even angels.

"Fuck, way to give us away you idiot!" Bakura's stance went back to what it had been, ready to fight. He bared his fangs in an attempt to keep Yami at a distance, but the other was still too far lost in his Bloodlust to react to such a thing.

Yami once more attacked, his claws ready to sink into flesh as he aimed for the angels. Angel blood tasted the best of all, so he would enjoy killing them off to get it.

Ryou quickly made some hand signs as he muttered a protection spell, but Yami broke through it as if it hadn't even been there. Bakura shot forward and punched Yami to the side, but the other was barely fazed and kicked Bakura into a wall with much greater force. Yami proceeded in trying to get his hands on an angel as Joey, Seto, and Mariku fired spells at him at the same time. Yami was thrown back, but recovered in no time to launch himself forward again.

Mariku threw himself forward as well to tackle the crimson-eyed demon but the other's energy once more lashed out and threw him aside to land next to Bakura in the wall. Seto tried to put up a new barrier as Malik, Joey, Ryou, and Yuugi all formed a combined attack, launching it just as Yami had managed to get through the shield.

"We can't keep dis up! He's too strong!" Joey frantically gathered more power for another shot to keep Yami at a distance. The demon was obviously more after them than Bakura or Mariku but no matter what they did, Yami didn't stay away for long.

"Well we have to try!" Seto joined him in the attack, but Yami easily dodged it. With one lash of energy all angels were thrown into the wall behind them as Yami launched forward and grabbed the first angel he could get his hands on.

Ryou was unlucky enough to be closest.

Yami grinned wickedly as he nails dug into Ryou´s flesh painfully and the angel cried out in pain, unable to move an inch in the spell Yami had already put on him. Yami's grin only widened at the sound, "Mine!"

Just before Ryou could be torn apart, Bakura launched forward in rage and kicked the angel's captor aside, holding onto Ryou so Yami would let go. "No, _mine!_ You have your own angel, leave mine alone!" Even in the current situation Ryou blushed as the spell keeping him unmoving faded. He latched onto Bakura in fright as Yami once more came at them.

Mariku tackled the crimson-eyed demon this time to keep him away from the others, giving his white-haired friend a quick jealous look before focusing on the fight again. Now was not the time to rant to Bakura about the unfairness of Ryou clinging onto him while Malik tried to stay away.

Before another attack could be launched everyone's attention was drawn to the wall that Tsumi had crashed through. A large explosion pulverized the entire left side of the room as an enraged Tsumi glared at all present.

"You fucking bastard. Fine, if I have to kill you to get rid of you and get the throne at long last then so be it!" Tsumi launched himself at his rival and the two once more started to fight. Yami's eyes became somewhat more focussed as he snarled.

"The demonic throne is mine! How dare you even try to take it!" He lashed out with his nails, leaving bloody trails over Tsumi's face before kicking the other into the ground. _No one_ could take the throne from him. It was _his!_

Without giving Tsumi time to recover, he swooped down and let his nails penetrate the skin in Tsumi's neck, drawing a pained cry from the teen below him, "Poison Claw!" The shadows entered Tsumi's body and the younger's blood turned to an acidic poison, eating away at Tsumi's insides.

The boy had already lost a lot of strength in the earlier fight between him and Yami, and no matter what he tried he couldn't get a single punch to hit the other now. Within minutes his vision clouded and pain shot through every fibre of his body until he simply couldn't move anymore.

Yami grinned down at the teen as the younger collapsed, "Have fun dying, it might take an hour or so before you're completely gone so pray that you'll lose consciousness before that."

He got no response but pained groans and moans. The demonic heir chuckled before turning to the group of angels and soulful demons.

Bakura was still holding Ryou in a possessive grip as he glared at the scene in front of him. Seto and Joey had both taken a battle-ready stance in case they were attacked again. Malik looked furious and scared at the same time, his stance hesitant and ready to attack at the same time. Mariku had crossed his arms and looked on in amusement at Tsumi as the teen died, though his posture was still tense and it was obvious he was still paying attention to any possible attacks.

The last one caught his eye the most. Yuugi, the angel that was supposed to be his lover. The young man had tears burning in furious eyes, hands fisted as if wanting to attack but being held back by his obvious love.

Yami smirked, this had been the group he'd been living with for so long, yet only now did he realize what a bunch of pathetic losers they all were.

He had calmed down, his fight with Tsumi and the deaths of all the servants having been enough to satisfy his Bloodlust. The group of friends would love to believe that was the end of it, but the smirk on their friend's face and the dark look in his eyes predicted nothing good, and they doubted if the other had gone back to his normal self.

"Yami?" Yuugi hesitantly stepped forward, looking at his lover apprehensively. At getting a mocking look thrown at him, he glared. This was not the Yami he knew.

"I really can't believe I killed my father over you, you know." Yami gave the smaller a thoughtful look before looking at the girl hiding behind them all, "Or over her actually. Then again, I guess I wasn't thinking straight. Souls tend to do that to demons."

Bakura's glare hardened, "So Tsumi really did take away your soul. How exactly are you still standing?"

Yami rolled his eyes and gave the entire group a bored look, "Before that bastard God gave me a soul I was walking around as well you know. The spell that idiot over there used was meant for demons that were born with souls, yet I was born without. When he sucked my soul out for his power, I came back to my sense."

Bakura clenched his teeth. That actually made sense. So now they had to contend with a soulless Yami, that seemed to be stronger than when he'd had a soul. If they didn't get out of there, he was sure they'd all die in a similar manner to Tsumi.

As if reading Bakura's mind – and Bakura didn't even rule that possibility out – Yami spoke up again, "Oh don't worry, I have no intension of killing you," he paused for a second before adding, "yet anyway. Right now you are of no interest to me. I suggest you enjoy the time you still have in the world of the living though, because I'm making it a point to kill all of you."

His gaze turned to Yuugi and Kumiko, "Especially you two. You're the first on my list of: 'people-I-have-to-kill'."

Without another word flames engulfed the wickedly smirking demon and he disappeared, leaving the group of friends behind without caring what they would do next. He'd come back for them and none of them would be able to stand up to him. Even if they all worked together, there was no way they could measure up to his power.

After all, with his father gone, there wasn't a demon or angel alive that came close the amount of power he possessed. Even God himself would not be able to stop him now.

**

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So yeah, that's the great happiness I promised at the beginning of the chap.**** Happy times ne? No? Ghe, didn't think so either. Well, I'll leave you all to review now and complain about the evilness. Trust me, far worse is coming! Review people!**


	7. Chapter 6: Curse

**Happy times continue folks! decmon Yami will be making a cemeo appearance this chapter cuz I had nothing else to put down and wanted the chapter to be longer, and dead bodies will be here too. We've got depression, crying, drama, and lots more of those happy feelings floating around and I bet you all can't wait to read!**

**°coughs° For those who are wondering, i've had Bullit, which is an energydrink like Red Bull, and I'm hyper. Sue the people who made Bullit if you must but don't forget to give me some money too.**

**Anyway, without further ado, LG chapter 6: Curse! R&R folks!**

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**--: 06 :--  
Curse**

Yuugi stared blankly at the by now dead body of Tsumi. He could vaguely hear his friends discussing something, though his senses were too dulled to even comprehend about what. He knew it was over an hour since Yami had left, because that was the time the now demon had said it would take for Tsumi to die.

The teen demon had died minutes ago already, and still Yuugi kept staring at the body.

Joey gave his friend a worried look, once more trying to ask him something but getting no response from his friend. He sighed and looked back up, "Anyone got any ideas how ta snap him out of dis?" All frowned but none answered.

Yuugi had collapsed right after Yami had left, staring unseeingly at Tsumi's dying body without responding to anything. They all knew why, he was devastated that he'd not only lost Yami, but the other was now also out to kill him.

Kumiko wasn't in a much better condition. She hadn't moved from her spot against the wall, crying as she wouldn't let anyone come close to her. She'd lost her brother, and it was partly her fault at that. Yami'd told her Ayashige was no good but she'd been too wrapped around his finger to listen.

Bakura scowled, "Well we can't just stand around here and try to get those two to react to us. We need to start thinking of way to defend ourselves." The arm wrapped around Ryou tightened. He hadn't let go of his little angel since Yami had left. Ryou didn't'seem to mind, still in slight shock over coming so close to a demon in Bloodlust. The time they'd fought Aknunkanon didn't even come close to what he'd gone through at that moment, and Bakura being so protective of him calmed him.

Besides, it gave him a feeling that all the flirting of the past weeks meant something more than just something Bakura did for his enjoyment.

"Well what do you propose we do?" Seto scowled, "Yami's back to his full demon self and he was unstoppable the first time already, he's only gotten stronger. I doubt even God himself can stop him now."

At the mention of Yami now being a full demon Yuugi finally seemed to snap out of the daze he'd been in for the past hour. He looked up at his friends and mentally picked himself up again.

No matter what he couldn't forget that this wasn't his Yami, and no matter what would he stop to bring his Yami back. There had to be a way to do that.

The logical part of his brain started working, trying to push the emotions away for the time being. He had to be strong and not sit on the ground like some whimpering 5-year old. There would be more than enough time for that later, right now he needed to think.

"The attack," All glanced down in surprise as they heard Yuugi speak, the other's eyes still focused on Tsumi but life shallowly sparking in the amethyst depths. Yuugi was not completely there yet, but at least he was responding to things again.

"What do you mean, 'the attack?' Malik rose an eyebrow, glancing from Yuugi to the body he was so intently staring at.

Yuugi finally rose from the ground, his eyes turning to his friends, "Tsumi used that attack to get rid of Yami's soul, so maybe there's a way to get it back. We just have find out exactly what he did…" He trailed off. The attack that Tsumi had used was one that had used a different kind of magic than his usual, suggesting Tsumi had learned it from someone else or read it, instead of developing it himself.

"Wow, for someone who was just on da ground not respondin' to anythin' you-" he was cut off by Seto swatting him on the head as Yuugi flinched at the words. As usual Joey had tried to say something nice, and had screwed up before he'd even gotten to it.

"What he meant to say was, that's a good point." Seto ignored the glare Joey threw him and looked around the room they were in, "He probably learned the attack from a book or something, which is bound to be still in this castle."

Bakura scoffed, "This castle is huge. By the time we find that book Yami will be ruler of this world and will come back for us." As much as he too deserved a punch at his bluntness, no one seemed to bother. Joey scowled.

Yuugi pushed the pain Bakura's comment caused aside as he tried to focus on the matter at hand. "Well we need to do something and I'm not going to stand around and do nothing." He started to walk towards the large doors leading further into the castle, intending to find some other servants that Yami hadn't killed off but who could be forced into giving some information. He briefly glanced back to look at Kumiko but the girl hadn't snapped out of her state yet. Sighing, he decided to leave her for now; she wouldn't let anyone close to her and she would probably be safe for now.

Bakura grumbled darkly under his breath as he followed Yuugi, Ryou automatically following since the demon had yet to let go of him. The others followed as well, leaving Mariku and Kumiko as the only ones in the room without even noticing.

Mariku simply stared curiously after them before looking back at Tsumi's body. Shrugging, the demon hummed happily as he walked over to the corpse with an evil grin plastered to his face.

* * *

"Okay, so after looking through at least ten libraries… we're still clueless about where the book is?" Yuugi groaned. He knew this was going to be hard but this was ridiculous. Ten libraries and they weren't even halfway through them all. How many libraries could a guy need?

"If there even is a book. He could've learned it off someone else… though that's less likely since I've never heard of anyone being able to do an attack like that." Bakura gave the library they were currently in a thoughtful look. He didn't even know exactly why he bothered. Even if there was a book, Tsumi would've hidden it much better than just putting it in one of his libraries.

"Well there has to be some clue. It's not likely that he hid the information without anybody knowing anything about it." Seto frowned, walking to the next shelf of books and starting to look through the pages of a worn out book that was nearly falling apart, "Unless he destroyed the book of course."

No one answered to that, not wanting to think of that as an option.

More time passed in silence as the group looked through the old room. They were almost done in the library when the door to the room opened and a happily humming Mariku walked in with Kumiko at his side. The girl was looking at the ground, her posture still screaming depression and her aura filled with a sense of guilt, but at least she had finally snapped out of the state she'd been in prior.

"Well look who showed up at long last. Where've ya been?" Joey gave the demon an annoyed look before glancing down at the book the other was holding. The blonde frowned as he looked back up at the bright smile on the other's face.

"I was looking for the book," He threw the large tome he'd been holding onto a table, "and I found it."

All stared in wide-eyed shock as Mariku simply sat down at the table. All knew Mariku wasn't the smartest demon around, his insanity before he'd accepted that demons weren't anything to mourn over having affected his brain more than just a little. To think that the demon had found the book they'd been looking for all this time was more than just a little shocking to them.

"How the fuck did you find that?" Bakura raced over to look through the book Mariku had brought to see if it indeed held the information they needed. At seeing the entire book filled with details to the attack, he once more stared in shock at his friend.

Mariku just shrugged, "It's not like you ever told me everything you can do, so I haven't told you everything I can do." He'd simply dug his nails into Tsumi's brain and absorbed the information still in it. This wouldn't always work, a corpse still needed to be fresh, but since Tsumi had died only moments before it had been quite easy to extract the information that he'd wanted, as well as learning some other things.

Bakura just scowled at the comment, "You knew of a way to get the location of this damned book and you _didn't_ tell us immediately?!" He would've slammed his fist down on the book below his hands, possibly destroying it if Yuugi hadn't snatched it away just in time. The book looked old so he was sure it wouldn't survive Bakura's wrath.

"Bakura, shut up. The point is that we found it." He glanced at Kumiko who had sat down as well, her eyes still downcast, "Are you okay?"

The girl stayed silent at first before raising her eyes to him. Yuugi winced at the pain in the normally cheerful emerald depths, "Just get Yami back, don't worry about me."

Yuugi would've tried to cheer her up at least a little if his own heart wasn't still breaking. He took a deep breath to calm himself, knowing he'd break down again if he gave the matter much more thought, before focusing back on the book in his hands.

"Okay, well all we need to do is look up what happens to the souls that are absorbed by the attack and we can think of a plan to get Yami back. _'If we can get him back.'_ Yuugi's mind automatically added. He kept it to himself as he opened the book again.

He'd only flipped a few pages before the pages of the book started to let go of the cover. Yuugi grimaced as he saw pages falling to the ground.

"Well, if it's already falling apart anyway," Malik snatched the book away from his friend and tore part of the book out of the cover, "Might as well help." Yuugi's protests were in vain as the rest followed Malik's example, taking pieces of the book to read and settling down around the table. Yuugi sighed; now they knew for sure the book would be gone by the time they were done.

The group went into a long silence as they all read their part of the book, the silence only being disturbed by pages being flipped or falling to the ground. After an hour Bakura finally ripped a page and jumped up with a triumphant cry. The action was so out of character for the demon that all present stared in shock before registering the only reason _why_ Bakura would do something like that.

"You found it?!" Joey threw his section of the book carelessly to the ground, no longer caring what happened. The second the pages hit the ground they scattered into random direction. If Bakura didn't have what they were looking for and it so happened to be in Joey's part, it was sure never to be found now.

Yuugi briefly noted this fact before turning his attention back to Bakura, "Are you sure?"

Bakura just grinned smugly, some stress falling off him though he hadn't completely read over the entire section of information yet. He'd just seen the title 'souls' and scanned over it a bit, but he knew this was what they were looking for, "I'm sure." He couldn't even say anything else before the page he was holding up was snatched out of his hand by Yuugi. His usual scowl returned to his face.

Yuugi ignored the scowl and the fact that he'd ripped the page out of the other's hand as he scanned over the page himself, taking in the information in search of what they were looking for. He didn't have time to to ask for the page, he needed to save Yami.

As he finally found the information that was actually relevant to him, he started reading out loud so everyone could hear.

"_Any soul captured by this method will become a part of the person using the curse. Their soul will remain there, fused with that person and powering him__ or her, until the caster dies. When this happens, not only do the souls that have been trapped, but also the soul of the caster if he or she has one, will be send to a limbo neither in Heaven nor Hell. In this limbo they are trapped in depression, sadness, and self-loathing, making some think it is actually a place worse than Hell could ever be for any soul."_

The page went on to describe numerous other things that were said to happen to the souls once they entered the limbo, and a discussion of whether or not it was worse than Hell or not. All the pros and cons to the statement were there but Yuugi didn't care much anymore. His heart had wrenched painfully when he'd stopped reading and he was having trouble just keeping hold of the page without dropping it from his shaking hands.

"A place worse than Hell for souls?" Malik frowned at the statement and glanced at the page, "Is that even possible? I mean, that they'd even consider calling it that must mean it's really fucking bad." No one answered but all silently agreed.

They fell into another silence, a tense and awkward one this time, as they all tried to vaguely imagine what a place like that could be. Even Bakura shivered involuntarily at the thought, though he concealed it best.

"So, where is this limbo?" Ryou tilted his head in thought, "I've never even heard of anything like this."

The five angels present glanced at each other with questioning eyes, but not even Seto who was considered God's right hand knew the answer to the question. It irritated the brunette to not have an answer for once.

"Well the quickest way would most likely be to ask God, since he will most likely know." At that mention, the brunette also reminded himself that God could've helped with the information they'd been looking for. If they'd just gone straight to Heaven it might've saved them a great deal of time.

"I guess we have no choice." Yuugi glanced at all the paper that had been thrown to the ground the moment Bakura had announced he'd found what they were looking for. Even if that information had also been in the book, he doubted it could be found now. The book had had no page numbers, so sorting it back into the right order would be near impossible now.

With a heavy sigh and a shake of his head, Yuugi started out of the castle, all the others following after him. If they didn't turn Yami back to normal soon, who knew what could happen.

* * *

Yami yawned as demon after demon came before him, sucking up to him as much as possible and apologizing for whatever they thought was necessary apologizing for. He didn't really care too much, he just wanted them to leave him alone so he could rest for a while. The Bloodlust that had taken him over and the fighting afterwards had tired him somewhat. Since a demon in Bloodlust wasn't exactly someone who would think of the amount of energy he used during that period, he'd used a lot of it. 

He really hated Bloodlust, thank the devil that he would never have to go through that again now that he no longer had a soul.

The demon that was now considered the overlord smirked at the thought of his soul. God had gotten to him once when he'd made the mistake to anger him enough to increase his power. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

Besides, as far as he'd gathered God had no lover at the moment, so there was no reason to worry over such things. Now if only the fool wasn't crushing on anyone Yami might kill out of boredom. That would prove problematic because surely the old man hadn't been sitting still and had gained power just like he himself had.

"My Lord?" Yami snapped out of his musings and glanced down from the raised platform where his throne was standing to see a male demon bowing before him, glancing questioningly up at him through his dark bangs.

Yami didn't even bother to look interested, "What?" His tone and posture still showed extreme boredom but no one dared to comment on it.

"We were just wondering… what are your plans?" The demon looked nervous, and his auro only enhanced that feeling. Yami smirked; he had only just returned and already they feared him.

"We're going to attack Heaven. In my period as," Yami grimaced and his next two words came out in a disgusted tone, "soulful demon, I've discovered where all entrances to Heaven are and where the weak spots are. There's no way God will be able to win this time." That had been the only pro to being a demon with a soul and bedding that angel look-alike of his. At least now he knew some more information about Heaven.

All demons present muttered softly to each other, but Yami paid no attention to what they were saying. He scanned the demons intently and scowled. Not only were most of them weaklings, but none of them were to his taste. Now that he no longer had that angel, he needed someone else to satisfy him. He didn't care one bit who that would be, but whoever it was had to be to his liking.

And of course, none of the demons around him were worth his time.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Yami stood up and ignored all the questioning gazes and nervous queries about where he was going. He dismissed them all, muttering to them all that they had to prepare an army and left the throne room.

He glanced around him as he walked through the halls impatiently, looking at anyone he came across to see if they were any better to his liking than what he'd seen so far. If he wanted to relax after that fight and the Bloodlust he'd gone through, he'd need someone to lay first.

With a small smirk Yami continued his way, positive that there would be at least _one_ demon around he would find worthy enough.

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**And that was it people. As you can see, the chapter was not influenced by Bullit - thank god for you sweatdrops - so I hope you all enjoyed. I'm glad my little plottwist came as such a surprise to everyone °grins° To be totally series, it was a surprise for me too. At first I actually only had the whole Bloodlust thing planned, and then this idea came to me. You'll never know how happy I suddenly was with the fact that Tsumi had done his little attack in the prologue already so I could use that, cuz when I wrote it I didn't have this all planned. Okay, so that's a bit about me writing this story. You must all be very happy to knw that... or not but oh well. Anyway, I'll cya all next week with the next oh-so happy chapter! Review!**


	8. Chapter 7: Limbo

**Wel, a very early update cuz i'm dead tired. Just got back from my gf's b-day party and lemme tell you, I barely got _any_ sleep. all I really wanna do is lie in my bed and sleep. Besides, I think all of you are very curious to know what I have planned next. And shockingly, I'm actually putting something YGO in this fic toher than the characters! ****Yes, fear me. Hope you all enjoy! R&R!**

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**--: 07 :--  
Limbo**

"Are you sure it was right to leave Kumiko outta dis? It is her bro ya know." Joey glanced aside at his best friend as they made their way through Heaven to the grand palace God lived in. Yuugi had insisted they bring Kumiko to Joey and Seto's house and make her stay there to keep her out of as much trouble as possible.

What had followed next had wrecked part of the house with just the force of the yelling. Kumiko had not been happy about being left behind. She wanted to help her brother just as much as the others did, but – to put it harshly – she was simply too weak and useless. None of them had any idea what this 'limbo' they were trying to find would be like, and therefore all – except Kumiko – had agreed that the girl should stay put.

Joey doubted his house would look very presentable when they got back.

"It's too dangerous. For all we know she could get killed in that limbo we're going to; I'm not taking the chance." Yuugi only spared a brief look at his friend before once more focusing on where he was going. They entered the palace in silence, no one knowing what to say or too caught up in their worries.

All noticed the hasty and somewhat panicked way everyone around them moved. All the angels they'd seen so far had been running and held a weary aura, as if expecting something to come soon. Now that they had entered the palace this feeling only grew. They'd all come to the conclusion that God must've followed every action and knew the demonic Prince had returned, and was now preparing for war.

The only thing that bothered Yuugi about that was that if God had followed everything that had happened, he might've been able to stop it. Why hadn't he saved Yami?

They stopped in front of the large double doors leading to the throne room, but before one of them could knock the doors flew open. Five angels walked out of the room at a fast pace, ignoring the group of angels and soulful demons completely. Not seeing any use in knocking now, the group entered the room.

Before them was the throne God usually resided on, but the chestnut-haired man wasn't there now. The man was standing at a desk a little away from the throne, papers laid out in front of him. He was so busy studying what was writing on the papers, the group doubted he had heard them come in until the man spoke.

"I don't have much time for this. As you can see I'm somewhat occupied with winning a war that's bound to come now that Yami is back to his old state."

The group glanced at each other before Seto stepped forward. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but we need some information. We might be able to stop this it-" He stopped as God held up a hand, his back still turned to them. The man turned around to look at the group with worry shining in his eyes.

"Forget it. That place is off-limits and isn't spoken about for a reason. There's no way you can get Yami's soul back, so I'd prefer it if you would get ready for this fight as well." Seto kept silent at the words, unsure whether to oppose the man in front of him or obey. Yuugi on the other hand had no doubt whatsoever and stepped forward.

"I'm not giving up on him. Even if you don't tell me where this limbo is, I'll still find it somehow, though it might be too late to stop this war by then." Determined amethyst met jade-green in defiance. He would not give up on his lover no matter the danger.

Silence fell over the group as the two continued to stare at each other. They could all see the doubt flickering across green orbs as God tried to decide whether or not to give the information they wanted or not. After a few minutes green eyes closed and a sigh of defeat was heard.

"There's only one way to get there, and that is if I cast a spell that will bring you there. I will only allow one of you to go, the rest I need here," his eyes briefly turned to the two soulful demons standing in the back, "even you two if you wish to help me," his eyes focused back on the entire group, "so who will it be?"

There was no debate as Yuugi took another step forward. Everyone knew what their friend was going to do whether anyone else wanted to go or not.

God glanced at the rest of the group before nodding, "Very well. Then the rest of you can go. Report to the northern entrance." All except Yuugi immediately left, even Bakura and Mariku after a quick glance at each other. Neither of them would let their look-alikes get hurt if they had anything to say about it.

As soon as the doors closed God turned to Yuugi with a seriousness the smaller man had never seen on the other's face, "This could kill you, and you know what happens if you die."

Yuugi nodded, his determination not wavering the slightest. Since an angel was technically already dead, if one were to die again they'd simply cease to exist. It was for that reason that angels were cautious with their 'life'. Yuugi didn't care much at the moment though. All he wanted was his Yami back, no matter what.

"Well then, let me tell you what you're going to find. The limbo you are about to enter is inhabited by the spirits sent there, and the two guardians that keep them there. None will be visible to your eye, but you'll be able to hear them speak. There's a test you'll need to go through to see if you're worthy of taking Yami's soul back with you, and if you fail that test you'll die." Amethyst and jade locked once more and at seeing no change in the younger's look, God gave another nod.

"Well, I see there's really no stopping you." With a sigh the ruler stood back, mumbling words in a language even Yuugi didn't understand as a blue light appeared between his hands. "Ready?"

Yuugi hesitated for a second before his voice turned timid, his eyes cast to the ground, "Why didn't you save Yami. Since you're preparing the army you knew what was going on. So why didn't you save Yami to stop this all?"

An awkward pause fell, the only sound being the crackling blue energy the older of the two was still holding. Another sigh was heard as God finally spoke, his tone grave, "Because I fear Yami. I didn't know that spell would actually turn him back into a demon, I thought he'd turn into a mindless doll like the rest. You might hate me for this, but I think the world is better off without Yami with his demonic powers; I've thought so ever since he got them back.."

By the sudden flare of anger in Yuugi's aura God could already tell the reaction the younger had to what he'd said. Without giving the other time to start expressing his anger, he sent the spell between his hands at the tri-colour haired man. Yuugi disappeared in the blue light, fury visible in his eyes just before he was taken away.

God sighed as he shook his head. No matter what feelings Yuugi harboured for Yami, he still stood by his opinion that the world would be better off without the demon. This had been another reason why he'd planned on refusing Yuugi's request and had merely wanted to kill Yami somehow, but the look in the younger's eyes had told him plainly there was no way to stop him.

With more worry in his heart, the ruler turned back to the papers he'd been looking over earlier, trying to think of ways to stop Yami from entering Heaven and win the war that was not far from starting most likely.

* * *

Fury blazed in Yuugi as he felt himself being transported to what he assumed to be the dimension where he would be able to find Yami's soul. He couldn't believe what he had just heard, and even though he was no longer anywhere near God, his urge to yell didn't leave him yet. Not until his feet touched the ground again did he even snap out of his angry thoughts. 

Trying his best to push his anger aside for the time being, he glanced around the new place he was now in. A wide plane of seemingly nothingness reached his eyes. A white hard floor stretched to every side with nothing on it as far as Yuugi could see. The atmosphere was dark and gloomy, and Yuugi could sense presences everywhere around him, though none were visible to his eyes. He supposed what he sensed were the souls that had been caught with the attack, because the gloomy atmosphere seemed to be caused by them.

Taking one big breath to fully calm himself and concentrate on what had to be done next; Yuugi focused his senses on presences that weren't radiating the sadness all around him. God had said there would be beings he could not see but who guarded this limbo.

A bit hesitant at not sensing any such beings around him, Yuugi glanced around once more, wondering if maybe God had sent him to the wrong place. Wondering if maybe God had pushed his desire to kill Yami as far as to get rid of one of the only people who would fight for the demon's lost soul. Wondering if maybe God had betrayed him.

Anger sparked once more inside Yuugi as he considered this. Now that he had heard what God had really thought of Yami he wouldn't put it past the man. He worked for the greater good, not just the love of one of his angels. Of course, if he could he'd do anything to keep all his angels happy, but since he had such a strong opinion of Yami and the threat he supposedly was, Yuugi knew the chance was there.

"Hello?" Yuugi turned in a circle to try and see if he could see anything that might confirm or deny his thoughts.

"Who dares enter this place?" Yuugi's eyes widened as the voice carried through the entire space he was in, not seeming to have any particular place where it came from. Even though he knew he wouldn't be able to see the being that had spoken, Yuugi automatically glanced around for a source of the low, booming voice. At not finding one, Yuugi shook his head and just looked in front of him.

"Uhm... God send me. I'm here to get back a soul that is trapped here." A chuckle was heard from not one, but two voices. The second voice sounded female, somewhat high and with a certain note of cruelty in it. She seemed to be amused by his answer.

"You've come to retrieve the soul of a loved one? Your God must be going soft to allow such a thing. Did he not explain the rules of this world?" The amusement in the female's voice had only grown as she spoke, and Yuugi's determination grew.

"He did, but I still want the soul back. I'm ready for any test you throw at me." Plain mocking laughter was heard, the two disembodied voices obviously finding it impossible that Yuugi could ever actually succeed.

"Did you hear that? He thinks he can actually get through his test. It seems we'll have a new soul to destroy and toy with." If a voice could've smirked, Yuugi was sure the woman's voice would be right now.

"A rare occasion, we should enjoy this." Another deep chuckle before the man continued, "Whose soul do you seek? Who is it you desire to bring back?'

Yuugi's voice didn't waver the slightest as he answered, any fear he had of failing hidden deep within him so neither of the beings would be able to even sense it, let alone hear it. "The soul of Yami Atemu." Silence hummed in the air for moment, before the male voice spoke again, a note of curiousity now apparent.

"The soul that was given to the Prince of all demons? Why would want to bring someone like that back?" Yuugi didn't know whether he wanted to really answer that question, but supposed since these two beings were in control he should try to keep them in a good mood, and not anger them by denying them answers.

"Because I love him, and without that soul his demonic self is going to destroy everything he can get to." The woman spoke next. Yuugi could imagine a raised eyebrow at her tone.

"Love? Well, an angel and a demon, how ironic. And yet, you are not the first to try this out of love. None before you have succeeded though, and I don't see why you should be any different. Do you still wish to continue?" Yuugi was surprised that she would even give him a chance to reconsider his decision, but knew he wouldn't take the offer. He had to get Yami back, no matter what.

"I do." The atmosphere around him changed as Yuugi felt magic swirl around him like a gust whirling around him for a moment, before blowing passed him. Before him appeared a large stone, just as white as its surroundings and almost invisible because of it. On the stone lay a chain with a pendent.

Yuugi looked curiously at the pendent. It was an upside-down pyramid with grooves that made Yuugi think of a puzzle that had been put together. In the centre of the side facing him was a strange symbol that looked like the eye of Horus from Egyptian mythology. Other ingravings were also carved into the gold though Yuugi had no idea what they meant.

A strange feeling passed through him, the sensation he'd always had whenever Yami was close by. He once more glanced around though he knew he could not see Yami's soul, but the sensation had already left him again. Yuugi wondered if the guardian beings had purposely let Yami's soul come closer to him, or if it had been a mere fluke.

Before Yuugi could further ponder this thought, the male voice spoke once more, "The soul of your lover is trapped within the item before you. As the grooves suggest, it was once a puzzle, and though it was completed on the outside, the inside is a still a chaotic maze. We will place your soul in the puzzle as well, and you will need to find your lover inside."

Yuugi frowned at the puzzle in front of him, finding the test so far to be somewhat easy. He had expected more than a mere maze from the warnings he had received, but before he could comment on this fact, the woman spoke.

"Of course, this is not all there is to it. After you have found your lover, you will have to make him remember you. All his memories are sealed and he only remembers pain and sorrow. You will need to make him remember you and himself." Another smirk seemed to easy to picture at her tone. She was the most confident of the two, though Yuugi knew the man also thought he would never make this test.

"Anything else?" Yuugi's voice sounded calm and unconcerned, though he mentally gulped at the challange ahead. He knew making Yami remember what had been sealed away would be harder than the two beings made it sound.

"Yes, you have two time limits. Time does not pass here as you know it, so telling you how long you have would be poinless," the man's voice sounded somewhat supperior, as if he thought Yuugi's understanding of time and his mental capability to understand his were not even worth considering, "but you will know how much time you have left as you continue through the test. The first time limit is for the maze, the second for making your lover remember who he was, and who you are."

Yuugi could practically feel the malice in the air after the man was done speaking. He knew these two beings did not get many guests as this limbo was kept secret and only had few ways to get into. He supposed that they had to be bored most of the time, and a 'toy' - as they'd called him – was a treat to them. He expected them to intervene in his test for their amusement, and to make it harder for him.

A new silence fell as Yuugi stared at the puzzle, unsure what to say. The two beings watched him with amused, yet curious eyes. Something seemed different about this victim. The others had trembled before them, their voice and aura filled with nervousness and fear. They had been afraid of failing the test and with that, fading into nothingness.

This victim, on the other hand, did not quiver in front of them. He did not show hesitance and continued to stare in determination even now that he had heard what had to be done. Both beings were sure their victim knew they were going to intervene, yet still he did not waver.

They were both intrigued and somewhat offended by this behaviour, though their curiosity far outweighted their sense of being insulted. A small smirk pasted itself into their faces as they silently decided to show this victim why he had to fear something like this, instead of just stand there with a determined fire burning in his heart.

"I assume you are ready?" The man asked, his voice not betraying anything of his thoughts. Yuugi nodded, his gaze not leaving the puzzle as he did so.

"Very well then, hang the pendant around your neck and your test will begin." A small amount of malice and excitement showed in the woman's voice, but it did not deter Yuugi. With that same look of defiance and determination he picked the puzzle up, hanging it around his neck without hesitation.

The second the golden puzzle hit Yuugi's chest, he could feel his soul being drawn into the item, like a vacuum trying to suck in dust. He didn't resist the slightest and let his soul drift away from his body and into the puzzle around his neck.

Golden magic swirled around Yuugi and before it had even completely subsided his body hit the floor, eyes closed and no sign of life showing except for his beating heart and steady breathing. The magic faded completely back into the puzzle and the two guardian beings shared a look, before quickly following into the puzzle, ready to play with their new toy to their hearts' desire.

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**Okay, to all who hate God now... come on, he does have a valid reason to some extend! And yeah, I've actually managed to involve the Millennium Puzzle. Well, now you'll all have to wait until next week for the actual test. °grins° Now all be good readers and review me, telling me how you all love me and want me to update again. ****R&R!**


	9. Chapter 8: Fading

**MUWAHAHAHAAH!!!! I'm back with one of my fav chapters of this story! ****And we all know I really enjoy writing my characters being tortured. °grins° Hope you all enjoy the chapter as much as I did writing it and R&R!**

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**--: 08 :--  
Fading**

As the sucking feeling ceased, Yuugi slowly opened his eyes, not even remembering when exactly he had closed them. The place he was in felt somewhat colder than what he was used to, and the enviroment definitely felt more hostile, but otherwise he detected no immediate danger.

Glancing around, Yuugi frowned at his surroundings. He was standing in a large hall with stairs leading everywhere, though the logic seemed far from what Yuugi was used to. Some stairs lead to higher planes while others seemed upside-down or just angled strangely. Doors were everywhere, all identical to each other, and Yuugi didn't doubt that if he went further into the maze, his surroundings would look the same.

Behind one of the doors, he supposed, was Yami. The beings had somehow cancelled out his power to sense life-forms and spirits completely, so Yuugi couldn't rely on that ability at all. The angel felt strangely like the time when he had just given up his power and was still adapting to mortal life; useless and unsure of what to do.

Remembering that he had a time-limit to find Yami, Yuugi stepped forward, noticing only now that even his wings seemed to have left him. He resisted the urge to curse the two guardians for taking everything he could've used as a slight advantage away from him, before concentrating back on what he had to do.

He climbed the stairs leading to the first plane of doors. Hesitantly he opened the first door, not knowing exactly what to expect and being cautious of traps he was sure the two guardians had planted there. The minute the door opened and Yuugi carefully stepped forward to check the room, a large stone fell from the ceiling to cover the opening and deny entrance to all who dared step forward. Yuugi's eyes widened as he was just in time to draw back the foot that would've been crushed otherwise.

"Okay, I'm going to assume that was the wrong room." Yuugi stepped back from the door and nervously stared at the large stone now blocking his view of the room. If his suspicions were right this wouldn't even be the worst of the traps the two guardians had planned for him, and this had already almost cost him a foot.

Shaking his head and taking a deep breath to calm himself, Yuugi drew back the determination and courage he'd had before he'd entered the puzzle, and continued along his way, opening every door in his path as cautiously as possible.

Some doors held no traps, allowing him to enter without any problems, while other's shot spears if he entered too far. Multiple times Yuugi had had to jump backwards as the stone under his feet crumbled to leave large holes in the rooms he'd been looking at, and his hand had once been hit by a falling stone. Although the stone had merely hit the hand and not crushed it in any way, the hand hurt painfully whenever he made a wrong move with it.

Hall after hall passed and Yuugi was starting to wonder how far his time had passed by now. He couldn't find any source of time whatsoever to tell him how much time he had left, and the angel was starting to worry that he had missed something and his time was maybe already running low. He didn't evne know how long exactly he had been stuck in the maze, his sense of time completely off and his mind not even paying the slightest bit of attention anyway since it was too foccused on staying safe fromt he traps.

Although Yuugi at first didn't notice, he noted after some time that the temperature within the maze seemed to be dropping, and that the lights were dimming. After paying attention to this fact for a while, he realized it wasn't just in his head and it really was becoming darker and colder. With a slight scowl Yuugi reasoned that this was what was supposed to tell him how time passed. The closer he got to the end of his time-limit, the darker and colder it would become.

After almost being scewered by yet another spear, and after that stepping into a room filled with poisonous snakes which he had had to slam the door on as fast as he could, Yuugi was starting to get cold as he passed through yet another hallway. He felt a gust of air brush by him but paid no attention to it until the ceiling right above him started to crack. Hearing the sound Yuugi looked up to see small pieces of stone already coming down on him.

Quickly lauching himself forward in an attempt to get out of the way of the falling rubble, Yuugi heard a loud crash behind him. A semi-large piece of stone fell onto his right leg and Yuugi winced in pain. It wasn't until he heard a cold feminine giggle that he realized who had caused the ceiling to collapse.

"You! You nearly squashed me!" Yuugi glared up into the air above him, knowing he would not be able to see the female guardian but wanting to point his look at something at least.

"Well at least you have fast reflexes, that's for sure." Yuugi could easily picture a woman hovering above him, her arms crossed as she stared down at him in amusement.

Yuugi bit his tongue in order not to snap at the guardian any further. Angering either of them would only lead to more traps and more near-death experiences. He'd had more than enough of those for a lot of lifetimes already.

Ignoring the mental picture of the guardian still looking down at him, Yuugi carefully lifted the piece of rock that was on his leg and tried to stand. He winced and hissed at the pain as he put pressure on his injured leg and bit his lip to prevent further signs of pain to escape him. He would not give the guardians the full pleasure of seeing him suffer at their hands, and walked further, a slight limp in his step now.

His sense of time returned somewhat as he tried to focus on how much time it took for the temperature to drop and the light to dim. After what he guessed was about an hour of walking around, the light had nearly completely died and Yuugi was shivering from the cold. He wrapped his arms around himself to try and warm himself up somewhat, but the cold was getting too strong.

In the hour that had passed he had come across more of the usual traps, a guilotine trying to cut him in half, more poisonous creature coming from seemingly nowhere ,not only in the rooms but also in the halls now – though Yuugi could've sworn he heard a deep chuckle which made him suspect the male guardian had had something to do with that – and knifes being lauched from ceilings in both rooms and hallways. Yuugi's reflexes had slowed down more, and more bruises covered the angel's body as blood even trickled down some of the gashes marring his skin.

"Care to give up yet?" Yuugi glared into the air above him where he thought the female voice had come from. The guardians had both been taunting him because he kept walking into traps and was now getting hit by more and more. Obviously the female guardian thought he'd quit just because he had gained some wounds and was nearly freezing to death in a place he could now barely see in.

"No way, I told you I'd find Yami and I will." His voice was weaker than it had been at the beginning of the test, the defiance dying somewhat, but the belief in what he said was still there. Both guardians shared a look of amusement before looking back at Yuugi.

They had to admit that Yuugi was better than they'd expected. Some of their other victims had died at this point, others had given up, and only a handful had continued on to the very end. It seemed Yuugi was one of those stubborn ones.

Another thing was that, whether he knew it or not, Yuugi had been taking the shortest route to the centre of the puzzle where his lover resided in a room. No one had ever managed to do such a thing, and no matter what kind of obstacles they threw in the angel's way, he kept taking the right hallways.

To say the least, they were stunned by this fact. Somehow Yuugi was taking the exact route he should without knowing the way. Neither guardian was a believer of true love and so they refused to believe that was the answer to this phenomonon, yet there seemed to be no other way to explain it. There had been too many twists and turns for it to be pure luck.

"_He's going to start getting weaker soon. Do you think he'll manage to get to his lover before he can't walk anymore, Arianne?_" The male guardian glanced at his companion, speaking so only she would be able to hear him and not Yuugi.

"_I don't know, but if he continues on like this, I think he will. Only two others before him have managed to get to that point. Though I hate to admit it, he's impressive."_ Arianne stared down at her toy with a thoughtful look. The two others who had managed to complete this test had been on the verge of fading into nothingness when they found the room they were looking for. If Yuugi continued on like this, he would be tired yes, but definitely not on the verge of fading.

"_Shall we try to stall him some more?"_ Arianne shook her head, her eyes staying focused on Yuugi.

"_No, __leave him be Arian. If he manages to get there he'll still need to get rhrough his second test, and no one has ever managed that. He's nearly there so it would be pointless to try to divert him now."_ Both guardians focused back on Yuugi, converting back to their taunting ways.

"Time's almost up." Yuugi glared once more but didn't bother to answer. He knew his time was nearly up, and his body felt more and more tired by the minute. He wondered if he was even remotely close to the room where he had to be, but refused to give the guardians the pleasure of knowing he was doubting himself.

"Tic tac, tic tac." The female guardian giggled and Yuugi grit his teeth. He _would_ find Yami, if it were only to prove he wasn't as useless as the two beings thought he was.

Taking a deep breath and shaking his head to clear it of all negative thoughts, Yuugi focused back on Yami. He momentarily closed his eyes, noting that it barely made any difference whether he kept the open or closed by now, before sensing a strange wave of warmth emanating from the corridor he was in, though it seemed the source was still far away.

Yuugi snapped his eyes back open and stared into the darkness, the feeling of warmth fading away again as if it had never been there. Yuugi hesitated for a second, before closing his eyes and concentrating once more on the source of the heat he had just felt. The small wave immediately came back to his senses, and without opening his eyes again, Yuugi began to walk. He kept his arms stretched out in front of him so he wouldn't collide with any walls while he let his senses guide him.

He had once more lost all sense of time and to him it felt like ages were passing as he walked. The heat was slowly getting stronger and although his arms had hit many walls already, he knew he was getting closer.

The strength in his body was fading more and more and Yuugi had the distinct feeling that this was the last phase of his time-limit. If he'd lose his energy completely, he'd fade away into the nothingness that awaited all who failed this test.

Amethyst eyes opened as Yuugi felt a door right in front of him, the metal warm and inviting unlike all the other doors he had touched so far. Glancing around the hallway he was in nervously even though he could no longer see anything, Yuugi pushed the door open, his body tense so it could respond to a possible trap as soon as it was activated.

No traps came as a sharp light burst from the room as if it had been contained there and was now finally free. Yuugi immediately jumped back, shielding his eyes from the blinding light he was no longer used to. After a moment Yuugi slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the amount of brightness before stepping into the room cautiously.

Before he had completely looked over the room, his eyes fell on the bed right in front of him, a curled up figure lying on the sheets. The form was shaking slightly and whimpers were escaping the other's lips every once in a while as if going through some sort of pain. Yuugi was painfully reminded of all the times Yami had broken down after Yoru had beaten him up.

Not even noticing as heat entered his body and energy flooded his system once more, Yuugi crossed the room without a word and sat down on the bed, checking over his lover's body – or was that soul? – before biting his lip. Yami seemed to fine except for the fact that he was shaking uncontrollably and fear and pain was etched onto his face. Yuugi didn't need to see the eyes that were clenched shut to know the book that had described Tsumi's attack was right; this really was worse than Hell for the souls trapped in the limbo.

"Well, well, well, I guess our little toy does have some talent after all." Yuugi ignored the female taunting voice as he let his eyes wander over his lover's body. He didn't want let either of the guardians to ruin the fact that he had found Yami.

"Tsk, he's ignoring us. How rude, not to mention stupid considering the fact that we can influence this test as much as we want." Yuugi gritted his teeth before turning to glare into nothingness. His eyes widened as he saw two transparent forms before him: one male, one female.

Both were the epitome of beauty and grace, which was, Yuugi supposed, to be expected from beings with powers this strong. Even so, Yuugi could not find any attraction to either of them; the looks both wore on their faces instantly killed anything that might have attracted him to the two. Both had amused and arrogant smirks on their faces. The woman was looking at him mockingly as the male had a hint of supperiority in his eyes.

Although Yuugi hadn't known it was possible, these two were definitely more arrogant than Seto, and he swore that was a very hard thing to beat.

The female merely smirked at his shocked expression of being able to see them, "I think you should be focusing on lover-boy there, your time for this test has already started."

Yuugi instantly snapped his attention back to the shaking form next to him on the bed. He brushed the shock that he felt at seeing the two guardians all of a sudden to the back of his head, determined to not let it distract him in any way. He needed to focus on Yami, not two spirits that would love to see him fade into oblivion.

Gently he lay his hand on Yami's shoulder, the action only resulting in the other's form shaking more, trying to pull away from his touch, and whimpers to escape the other's lips.

"Aw, I think he hates you." Yuugi shot a brief glare at the male guardian at those words. The man smirked back at him, an air of mockery filling the room as he did.

"Can you two just shut up or go away? Trying to kill me is one thing as I'm going to fade away anyway if I fail, but _don't_ say something like that." Yuugi could easily read the surprise off the man's face and turned back to Yami, determined to ignore anything the two said from now on.

The male guardian raised an eyebrow and glanced at his female partner. _"Interesting relationship these two have if that statement got a reaction like that from him."_

"_True."_ Arianne looked from their playtoy to the trapped soul, _"Though he is an angel and the soul was a soul trapped in a demon's body. I suppose that does come with some complications."_

Arian nodded before looking back at the two forms on the bed. Yuugi had pulled his lover into his arms, completely ignoring the increase of fear, shaking and whimpering coming from the older, and was now rambling about... well he supposed they were memories.

His interest somewhat piqued he listened in, hearing Yuugi talk about the time they'd only just met. He raised his eyebrow many times at certain events and the information he heard and had to wonder why Yuugi was even bothering to bring someone back that had brought so many troubles along with him.

Time passed and still Yami showed not even a slight sign of improvement. He was still trying to subconsciously get away from Yuugi at every chance he thought he had. Yuugi was desperately trying to get through the force that was keeping Yami's mind in the trance it was, but nothing he said seemed to do anything. Arian and Arianne looked on, by now somewhat bored again. Although they had been amused to hear Yuugi try and get Yami back by repeating their history together at first, Yuugi had finished that and was now repeating things he had already said before and plainly begging the other to wake up.

Both guardians could clearly feel Yuugi getting weaker with each passing moment. The time he had to snap Yami out of his trance was far shorter than the time he'd had to find the room, and Yuugi had long since started to weaken. His body was shaking with the cold that penartated the room and they were sure he could no longer even see his lover. Arianne sighed in boredom, deciding it was time to have some more fun.

"You know, you're nearly freezing already and I bet you can only barely keep sitting. Why not just give up?" She looked over her nails to empezise her boredom but she doubted Yuugi could actually see what she was doing.

"I bet he's just hoping for a miracle. Guess no one told him those don't exist anymore." Arian chuckled as he could clearly see Yuugi stiffening at their words. No matter how much he tried to ignore the facts, Arian knew Yuugi knew the truth behind them.

"Why did you even bother getting him back?" Arian couldn't help but let some curiosity slip into his voice. Others had tried to get loved ones back from this place before, but none of them had had such a troublesome history before. He couldn't help but wonder why Yuugi was trying so much.

"Why do you care?" Yuugi turned to the guardians, his form slumped somwhat, his eyes showing how tired he was and his body shaking with both cold and lack of energy.

"Oh come on, he's brought nothing but trouble to you, why bother getting someone like that back?" Although Yuugi couldn't see the male guardian, he sensed the other shrugging. "You could've listened to your god and fought his demon self, killed him and be done with it. Would've most likely been easier."

Yuugi glared, feeling more energy drain from him from that simple action and he was tempted to give in to the urge to lie down next to Yami and sleep. He knew, however, that if he were to do that he could never get Yami and himself out of the limbo, and if that failed everything he had done would've been in vain.

"Because I love him." Yuugi's voice sounded far more fierce than he himself thought he had the energy for. He sensed the surprise from both guardians at the conviction with which he spoke, before they quickly hid it behind barriers. He was so focused on the two guardians that he didn't feel the form still in his arms stiffen.

Both guardians on the other hand noticed the change immediately. Yami was stiff, no longer shaking in any way or trything to get away. They glanced in wonderment at each other but kept it carefully from their aura, unsure if Yuugi could still sense emotions.

"_No way, he's said those words over a million times already! Why would they make such an impact now?"_ Arianne frowned, glancing from Yuugi, to Yami, and then back to Arian.

"_I don't know, but I'm curious to see what happens if we k__eep pushing the buttons just the right way now."_ Arian smirked and turned his attention back to Yuugi.

"You would give your life just for an impossible chance of getting that guy back? You knew before you came here that no one had ever passed our tests so you knew it was fairly impossible."

Yuugi shook his head to clear all the dizziness from it, only resulting in increasing it. He groaned before steadying himself and focusing back on what had just been said.

"I'd rather fade away into nothingness than let any chance of getting Yami back slip." He shook his head again but it still only worsened the growing cloudiness in it. He swayed a little before realizing he had no choice but to lie down if he didn't want to fall off the bed.

He gently lay down, drawing Yami close to him. He dimly noted that Yami had stopped shaking and was actually clinging to him now, but he was too far gone by now to fully process what that could mean.

Arian and Arianne watched in curiosity. Unlike Yuugi, they where fully capable to understand what was happening. Instead of trying to get away from Yuugi, Yami was clinging to him as the life-line he really was. On one hand they knew Yuugi would soon pass out and fade away if they didn't say another thing, but they were both curious to find out if Yuugi could bring his look-alike back if he simple kept talking with the determination and conviction in his voice with which he had been speaking to them.

"So his life actually means more to you than your own?" Above all of their reasoning, they were just plainly stunned to find someone like Yuugi and were trully impressed by him; something that had never happened.

Yuugi glanced in their general direction through half-lidded eyes, no longer able to sense where exactly they were standing, before closing his eyes and snuggling closer to Yami. "Yes, it does." He felt too tired to keep talking and left his answer at that, drifting away to the darkness that had been trying to claim him all this time.

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****And… I think that's pretty much the worst cliffhanger I've ever made °sweatdrop° which is another reason why I really like this chapter but you will most likely disagree with me on that. °shrugs° oh well. Review everyone!**


	10. Chapter 9: Return

**Okay people! Here comes the next chap that i actually had quite some trouble writing. Had to redo certain things because I wasn't happy with them and even now there are things i don't especially like. Still, I don't feel like editing this chapter for the rest of my life so I'm keeping it like this. Hope you all have fun despite some of the lesser parts! R&R!

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**--: 09 :--  
Fading**

Yuugi was no longer able to sense anyting as crimson eyes opened to look at him as he fell into a deep sleep. As soon as the crimson eyes had opened the heat and light came back full-force to the room, all energy taken at one point being returned.

Arian and Arianne stared in shock, unable to say anything as Yami groaned against the light, blinking in an attempt to get used to it. He shook his head to release all the feelings of pain and fear that had been wrecking his body, before fully taking in his surroundings.

"What the-" Yami frowned, confused at what was going on. The last thing he remembered was how agitated he had been after the fight with Kumiko. He'd gone to bed that night, but everything after that was so fuzzy to him that he had no idea what exactly had happened.

He glanced at the form he had been clinging to when he'd woken up and his eyes widened as he saw the paler-than-usual face of Yuugi, his expression pained.

"Aibou? Aibou wake up." Yami shook the other gently and with a groan Yuugi opened his eyes. The younger was confused for a second, having expected to have faded by now. As soon as Yami's face came into focus his eyes widened in shock and surprise.

"Y-Yami?" The older nodded, an equally confused look on his face. Before he could ask anything though, Yuugi threw his arms around him, sobbing uncontrollably into his chest, rambling what sounded to Yami like complete nonsense.

Yami pushed the confusion aside for now, wrapping his arms around his love and trying to sooth him. It took quite a while before Yuugi was calm again, hiccupping slightly but otherwise no longer crying. Yami smiled softly at him, "Mind telling me now where we are, how we got here, and why you were just crying at the sight of me?" he chuckled playfully, "Don't tell me I've become so ugly you can't even stand the sight of me."

Arianne, regaining all her mental abilities completely now, smirked, "Oh, I like this guy." Yami's attention immediately snapped to her and he frowned at the two see-through guardians, subconsciously pulling Yuugi closer to him.

"And who are they?" Yuugi smiled weakly at him, simply snuggling closer to the other before answering.

"What happened was that you nearly went into Bloodlust, if you know what that means," Yuugi glanced up to see Yami frowning for a bit, before his eyes widened. Yuugi took this as a sign that Yami knew what he was talking about.

"Before you went fully ballistic, Tsumi, the guy you rescued Bakura and Mariku from a couple of weeks ago, kidnapped Kumiko. He wanted you to get hit by that attack of his so he'd get your power. You did so but his plan backfired. Since your body was originally soulless, it just converted back to that instead of becoming a mindless doll. You two fought and you killed Tsumi... or rather, your demonic self did."

Yami glanced down at Yuugi again, frowning once more as questions entered his mind. Before he could sort out which ones to ask and which to leave for now, Yuugi continued his story.

"You're in the place where all the souls go that are sucked up by that attack. I had to go through two tests to get you back. Those two," Yuugi pointed at the guardians, "are the guardians of this place and have been trying to kill me."

Yami face turned into a hard glare as he looked at the two guardians. He tried to summon his shadow powers but as soon as he started gathering strength, the male guardian rolled his eyes and flicked his wrist. Immediately the light in the room increased and the shadows were weakened to a point where Yami couldn't inflict any damage.

"It's our duty to keep the souls here against all who try to claim them back." Arian spoke calmly, although on the inside he was still amazed that Yuugi had actually gotten through their tests.

Yami's glare did not lessen as he stood up from the bed, his fists balled at his side, "And so you decide to kill Yuugi?" He growled until he felt Yuugi tug on his arm. He looked back to see the other smiling gently.

"Leave it, they're not worth it and it is their job." Yami scoffed at the answer but sat down again nonetheless. Arianne chuckled.

"He has the spirit of a demon in him, but it seems he's been tamed." Yami growled at her again, but said nothing.

Yuugi ignored the insult, knowing reacting to it would only encourage the two guardians to keep going. "So what happens now?" He looked questioning at the two standing by the door.

"Well, first of all," Arian snapped his fingers and the interior of the puzzle disappeared. Yuugi found himself with the puzzle he had just left hanging from a chain around his neck, Yami standing next to him in see-through form. The two guardians were once more invisible to the eye as both Yuugi and Yami glanced at each other questioningly.

Arian's voice rang out through the seemingly endless room, once more coming from all sides, "That puzzle is a medium to channel Yami's soul. His soul will rest in there and come out at will. It will be like sharing a body." The smirk was once more quite visible in Yuugi's mind's eye.

"Okay... so his soul is in this thing?" Yuugi glanced at the puzzle, before smiling somewhat. At least Yami was close to him at all times now. "So how do I get him back in his body?"

Arian could be heard snorting, "What do we look like? An encyclopaedia you can just ask anything? That's up to you to figure out."

Yuugi frowned, but knew arguing would be pointless. Instead he went for the second question that he had on his mind. "Okay, so how do we get out of here?"

Arianne chuckled before Yuugi could see blue magic starting to envelope him. "I'd let your lover retreat into that puzzle. Who knows what will happen if he gets separated from it?"

Yuugi and Yami's eyes widened as Yami tried to retreat back into the puzzle. It took him a few moments before figuring out how it worked. Just as he faded away, the blue magic surrounded Yuugi completely and the younger felt his feet leave the ground while he was sucked away from the limbo.

Vaguely he heard the two guardians speaking to each other and smiled to himself as he heard the amazement at his feat; the first one to pass their test ever.

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A bright flash illuminated an empty throne room, vanishing as quickly as it had come as Yuugi appeared in front of the throne. He glanced around for a second, checking if he was really where he was supposed to be and maybe to find God. 

The boasting could begin in his opinion; he'd gotten Yami's soul back even though the other had thought it to be impossible. Besides, even though Yuugi knew the old man had the best intentions, he was still furious about what God had said before he left.

Yami a threat. He snorted; yeah right. Not as long as he actually had his soul in his body.

Yami's spiritual form appeared next to him, a bit unsteady as he was still learning to deal with new 'home'. His gaze was immediately drawn towards the doors, a light scowl on his face. Yuugi sensed it not even a second later.

"They're fighting." Yuugi nodded, a concerned look passing over his face as he thought of his friend that were out there as well.

We have to go help them." He glanced at Yami, "Do you still have your shadow powers?" Yami frowned at the question.

"I do, but I don't know if I can channel them through you. We'll have to see." With that Yuugi started off towards the exit of the palace, determined to go help his friends. Yami drifted behind him, a somewhat thoughtful look on his face. "You know, I could get used to not having to walk."

Yuugi chuckled at the other, glancing behind him with a smile. "You wish, I'm not carrying you around everywhere."

As they stepped out of the palace, silence met their ears. Both glanced around for a second to see absolutely no one around on the streets, before looking at each other. The raging aura's they could both sense were still quite a distance away so Yuugi supposed the fight hadn't gotten too much out of hand yet. Not a demonic aura had broken through Heaven's defences.

"We better get there fast before someone gets seriously hurt. Where were the others sent?" Yami's gaze lingered on the North as he sensed the strongest two aura's there. God and his demonic self had to be fighting there.

Yuugi swallowed as his eyes fixed themselves in the same direction, "The northern border." His friends were in real danger if they got too close to the fight of the two rulers. Yami knew his own strength well and he also knew none of the angels stood a chance against it, even if they teamed up.

Yuugi was airborne in no time, flying at high speed towards the two clashing aura's in the North. Yami sighed sulkily as he knew it would be useless to try and keep up with his lover and vanished back into the Puzzle, waiting for Yuugi to arrive so he could come out again.

Within record time Yuugi had reached the battlefield only to gape at what he was seeing.

Both angels and demons were fighting with a passion, one to protect the place they stood, the other to get through. Blood tainted the ground and even corpses could be seen. A quick look over the fighting figures below him told him all his friends were still alive, but fightin to keep it that way.

Bakura and Ryou had been separated from the rest, the soulful demon bringing down as many demons as possible while hunting down any that even dared to look at Ryou. Because of the immense protection, Ryou was easily taking out demons from a distance with spells, while casting protecting and healing spells to Bakura whenever needed. The two seemed to be forming a good team, separated as they were from the other angels.

The rest of their friends were all close together, though seemingly still fighting in teams. Mariku was laughing maniacally as he killed left and right, Malik scowling at him as the demon was taking out everything he wanted to go after. It seemed Mariku was under the impression that Malik couldn't do anything on his own, and it was obvious that the younger of the two would snap at any moment now.

Seto and Joey were only a few feet away from them. Joey was acting like the bait like he was best at while Seto picked up any demons that were foolish enough to fall into the trap. Which, Yuugi noted, were quite a few. Demon after demon flew after his blonde friend, unaware of the spells coming right at him as Seto flew by. Yuugi resisted the urge to outright laugh as some of the stupidity that was being shown by the demonic side.

Above it all floated God and Yami's demonic form. Demon Yami was smirking, God was panting. It was obvious who was winning. Yuugi cursed under his breath as he saw the amounts of wounds already inflected upon his ruler.

"Well, I believe I'm still stronger than God." Yuugi glanced aside and eyed Yami's somewhat triumphant face. It was a good thing the other didn't know God had actually wanted him to be left in the Limbo or he'd probably be going mad right now. That, or he might just start cheering for God's defeat.

"What's wrong, old man? Already getting tired? Che, pathetic. I'd expected more out of you." Demon Yami smirked victoriously. God glared.

"Don't count on a victory just yet; you haven't beaten me."

A snort, "Oh please, you can't keep up with me and if I wanted to, I could kill you in an instant. You have no chance of beating me."

A glaring contest ensued for a bit until Yuugi had had enough. It was obvious that God wasn't able to win, but he himself might stand a chance if Yami could focus his power through his body. He just prayed that would work or they'd have a big problem.

Yuugi's aura flared, Yami looking at him in surprise as he powered up to full strength. Immediately the attention of the two titans was drawn, God looking shocked and Demon Yami grinning maniacally. The latter was obviously happy that he wouldn't have to go look for his ex-lover.

"Well, if it isn't little Yuugi. Come to stop me?" He didn't even seem to notice the transparent form hovering beside Yuugi that mirrored his features to the last detail. He was focusing on Yuugi, not some ghostly form that could never harm him.

Yuugi merely glared, unsure of how to go on now that he had the demon's attention. He glanced briefly to God to note exactly how bad the extensive injuries were and knew the man had been no match for the demonic ruler. Only Yami himself would most likely be strong enough for that feat.

"What's wrong, cat got your tongue?" The demon looked tauntingly at what was his former lover in a sense. To be perfectly honest, he'd been having some difficulty finding a new toy to bed that would stand up to the standards that Yuugi had apparently left. The angel was definitely good in bed; he could remember that quite well. No one seemed to match him.

With a smirk the crimson-eyed demon prepared a plan to solve that little problem. It wouldn't take that much to get what he wanted really.

"I'm actually happy you came. You see, I have a little problem and I'm afraid you're the only one that can solve it for me." Yuugi's eyes flared with more anger. The ruler watched in amusement.

"And what makes you think I'll help you?" Demon Yami's smirk widened at that question.

"Well that's rather simple really. You see, I've been having a problem with finding someone that is worth sleeping with, it seems you've set my standards rather high. It's rather easily solved though, I don't need your consent to kidnap and rape you as much as I like. Easy solution right?"

Yuugi's temper flared, Yami's smirk widened. Seeing the apparent unguarded opening, God attacked with full force. The time for playing fair was over. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, this was war; anything went right now.

As if it was the simplest thing in the world, the demonic ruler turned, blocked, and even managed to get a good hit in before slamming God to the ground below. He rolled his eyes, "Do you really think I'd be so foolish as to let my guard down on you?"

The next thing he knew he was flying towards the ground himself, a stabbing pain in his back. He stopped far before the ground and looked up only to see Yuugi hovering above him, arms still in the position as when he'd obviously hit him. The demon scowled; how ironic. Hadn't he just said he didn't let his guard down?

"Well, I suppose there's some spirit in you yet. Let me break that." With unmatched speed, the ruler had reached his new target. Before he'd even so much as created a shadow ball though, his eyes widened as a shadowy aura all-too familiar to him appeared around the angel. It was only then that he noticed the golden puzzle around the other's neck and the crimson hue the amethyst eyes held.

"We won't be beaten that easily." With widening eyes the demon stared at the man in front of him. Two voices had spoken just now, and one of them was his own. The only explanation for that would be if his soul, the one that had been placed in his body as a punishment, was now residing in Yuugi's body together with the angel's own soul. It would explain the shadow powers as well.

This of course, brought a new threat forth. If the soul managed to project his powers through Yuugi, they'd be quite evenly matched, and this would become a long fight. One he might actually lose.

His eyes narrowed once more, "Well, I see someone brought some help. Very well, I guess my playtime in bed will have to wait a bit longer then." His own aura flared to life, his power rising to the maximum. Yuugi did the same, his aura a combination of golden magic infused with dark shadows. The demonic overlord didn't know what to expect from the combination of angel and demon magic, but wouldn't underestimate it.

The two powers clashed in mid-air. The fighting below instantly stopped at the enormous release of energy. Both angel and demon alike stared in awe as two levels unmatched by even God started to fight. God's eyes even widened at the amount of energy he was sensing. The demon had been merely playing with him, he could see that now. But he'd be damned if he was merely going to stand around and do nothing.

Mariku and Bakura were the only two demons who didn't flinch the slightest as Yuugi clashed with his demonic ex-lover. They knew Yami's power and could instantly sense the soul of their friend combined with Yuugi's own magic. Mission accomplished. Both left the sides of their angelic look-alikes to do some damage around while everyone was gaping.

Most of the rampage went unnoticed, though God shook his head as he shot up to where the fight was to help. Those two were less dangerous than Yami, he admitted, but they were still a handful.

Before the angelic ruler had so much as powered up, Yuugi help his hand up. The fight stopped for a second as Demon Yami looked suspiciously from the angel to the ruler. Yuugi ignored it though he did not turn his gaze away.

"This is our fight; you can't help so stay out of it." There was still a double tone in the voice, one deep and calm, the other soft and angry. God supposed that Yuugi was still mad at him for saying what he had about Yami. The insolent tone was definitely coming from the softer, not the deeper voice. Yami apparently didn't know yet or didn't care. He hoped the latter but knew the former was more likely.

"You need help and it is my duty to protect-"

"You can't beat him." Yuugi glanced behind him briefly, though turning his gaze back as soon as possible. He did not want to let the demon in front of him out of his sight for too long, "We can."

The demonic ruler raised an eyebrow, "You're actually refusing help? Well that's rich. Can't say I mind though," he smirked, "this'll make it all the easier to beat you."

Yuugi huffed, the deeper of the two voices mostly heard as he spoke next, "Beating one of us might be easy, but together you'll find us quite troublesome."

"Oh please, like you actually stand a chance," the demon would never admit that he knew he was just about evenly matched at the moment, "you'll never beat me."

"Well then I propose we stop talking and start fighting. Words won't get us anywhere at the moment." Yuugi's voice sounded remorseful at the statement, Yami's determined. It was obvious that the angel would've preferred it if this hadn't come to fighting but he knew they had no choice at the moment. Yami on the other hand wanted nothing more than to curb the demon that had lived in him for so long and was responsible for the life he'd led. This was payback in a way for him, even though he'd be fighting his own body.

The demon merely grinned maniacally, "Very well then, let's get down to business then shall we?" With another flare of power the two clashed again, this time not to be interrupted. God hovered in the air as he stared with wide eyes. He really wouldn't be any match for either of these two. It would be better if he oversaw the fighting below in case it started up again.

Nervous green eyes focused on the battle above, hoping beyond hope that Yuugi had gained the power to win somehow, As God himself drew back towards the ground. He would still attack if given the chance, but for now it seemed he would be useless. This was a new feeling for him, and he utterly hated it, but had no choice but to accept it for the time being.

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**So yeah, i actually have nothing writing after this cuz I got addicted to pokemon-online °sweatdrops° I swear that game is addicting, so i'll go write my ass off to get the update for next week up here on Saturday. hope you all liked the chapter and cya nex week! Review!**


	11. Chapter 10: Fight for Heaven

**Okay, i've managed to finish both this chapter and the epilogue during this week. ****If my computer doesn't crash/explode/breaks down I'll actually be able to finish this fic! I swear that's a relief to me °sweatdrops° Well, next week will be the epilogue and therefore the last chap, so I hope you all enjoyed this story. It's given me quite a few headaches when I couldn't come up with what to do next. R&R folks!**

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**--: 10 :--  
Fight for Heaven**

Shadows that seemed to radiate with a golden glow clashed with a similar force, though lacking the light hue to it. Yuugi's aura was unstable for a second, the angel still trying to figure out how to focus both his own magic and the shadow magic Yami was channelling through him in a way that they wouldn't clash against each other. The magics were so different from one another he doubted they would ever mesh into one force, but somehow he managed to focus it to a point where it could at least keep his demonic opponent at bay.

His mind was working on overtime as he tried to come up with a way to get Yami's soul back into its body, preferably before he got to the point where either he or the body would be on the verge of death or beyond that. This would be no easy fight and deep down he knew the outcome would never be in his favour if he didn't figure out a way to restore Yami's soul to its body, but so far he couldn't think of anything of help.

Seeing the distraction flashing across the angel's eyes, the demonic ruler shot up higher into the air. Yuugi, as distracted as he was in his thoughts, had no time to compensate and shot forward. He managed to stop before hitting something, but was quickly kicked into the ground below. Yuugi cursed himself for losing focus.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Demon Yami chuckled as crimson-flecked amethyst glared at him. He raised a mocking eyebrow, "I thought you were going to stop me. What are you doing lying on the ground like that?"

Inside him, Yuugi felt Yami glare at his former self with a certain possessiveness. The shadow aura around him increased, making the balance that had already been hard to keep tip over. Yuugi's own magic sparked irregularly until it died down, and the angel found himself speaking without actually having wanted to. "Stop joking and just fight." Yuugi wanted to curse the other inside him but had no chance for it. Shadow balls shot his way as he quickly dodged. Before he knew it, arms snaked around his body from behind and claws dug into his chest.

"As you wish, but at this rate it'll be over sooner than even I thought." With a loud cry the demon send Yuugi crashing behind a rock formation, crashing into the ground there.

_//Damnit Yami, stop doing that!//_ Yuugi mentally glared, trying to stay hidden for a moment as he settled the mental fight he'd been having with his lover. Yami had been trying to project his power through Yuugi, and had succeeded. The problem was that Yami had also been trying to dominate the fight, which made an imbalance in their joined power. There had to be an exact amount of both magics for this to work, and Yami wasn't making that easy.

_//What do you mean? I'm _trying_ to win this! You're trying to keep my power sealed!//_ Yami sounded just as annoyed as Yuugi, a light twitch in his eye. Yuugi wasn't sure how he knew this last fact but he did.

With a sigh, the angel ran a hand through his hair, briefly glancing into the sky to see Demon Yami hovering there, a bored look on his face as he checked his nails. It was obvious that he would be waiting there until he actually came out of hiding. Perfect.

_//Don't you get it? We need to synchronize our powers, not let one dominate the other. You've been trying to force your shadow powers to overrule my magic and that's why we're actually slower and less powerful. You forget that our powers are complete opposites so we need a _balance_ to make this work!//_ There was a silence for a brief moment, and Yuugi glanced up once more to see if the demonic ruler had changed his mind about waiting yet. He saw the other yawn but he still made no move to come looking.

A sigh was heard in his mind and Yuugi smiled somewhat, knowing he'd won, _//Fine, I get your point. So how do we get this right?//_ Yuugi grinned.

_//We have to work as a team. We've always been great together, so let's see if we can do that while fighting as well.//_ he received an apprehensive nod, but a nod nonetheless. Yuugi took a calming breath, closing his eyes briefly to try and make a new balance of his and Yami's power. His senses stayed alert, but by the time he reopened his eyes he could still see the demon he was fighting hovering at the exact same spot. A very Yami-ish smirk appeared on the angelic features. The other was underestimating them.

Their spirits fused as one, and an aura that seemed to both glow with golden-white magic and purple-black shadows surrounded them as they leapt into the air with a speed so far not displayed. Demon Yami's eyes flashed to the spot he had knocked Yuugi to, hoping to catch the movement and block it, but was kicked away before he had even registered something was there. His wings spread to stop him from faltering even further, but he was too late to stop the ball of shadow magic, sparking with golden magic like electricity from hitting him and making him crash to the ground.

The demon looked up, glaring as he saw Yuugi with a perfect mesh of shadow and angel magic floating in the air. His eyes once more shone with a crimson hue, though this time it seemed to flow perfectly into the amethyst colour instead of either of the colours dominating it.

He growled, "Well what do you know, they're actually in perfect sync. This will make this even more complicated." He slowly rose from the ground again, keeping his eyes trained on Yuugi – or could he actually call him Yuugi now that he and the soul that had been in his own body had become one? He shook the thought away and focused on the fight.

With strong wing beats he shot at the angel still hovering in the air. Yuugi's eyes followed every move, as if trying to predict what the demon would be doing next, and succeeding as he dodged a few punched with ease. Demon Yami growled in annoyance at the ease displayed, his aura growing more powerful as he created a shadow ball and shot it at Yuugi. The angel didn't have the time to dodge it at the distance they were fighting at, and instead threw one of his own shadow balls surrounded by angelic magic to counter. The explosion as the two hit threw both sides back.

Yuugi groaned as he felt some of the dissipating shadow magic still hit him, cursing softly. _//Are you alright?//_ Yuugi grimaced at the question.

_//We've only just begun, it would be bad if I was already feeling the strain.//_

He could feel Yami's presence as if it were looking at him sceptically, _//So you are feeling the strain then.//_ Yuugi really hated Yami for knowing him so well.

_//It's hard to keep our powers fused and focus on the fight. Besides, we still need to come up with something that will get you back in that body_.//

The conversation was interrupted as Demon Yami flew at them. Both focused back on the fight in favour of continuing their conversation. Punch after punch was thrown with the occasional kick in between. Yuugi was happy that Yami was just as good at physical fighting as his demonic self was, since he himself didn't know too much about it. He was great with tactics, had great aim when it came to spells, and had the power to make the spells do damage, but actual fighting like this? He'd never been good at it.

As one of the punches connected with his chest and he was forced back, Yuugi temporarily ignored every bit of pain that seared through him and cast a spell. The demonic ruler dodged, only to be hit by a second spell that Yuugi had send his way after predicting which way he would dodge.

The demon scowled as he winced in pain, mentally cursing the fact that Yuugi had already observed him enough to start predicting his moves. He knew his soul wasn't the type to observe to the point of predicting his opponent's moves, but Yuugi definitely was.

With another few low muttered words Demon Yami attacked again, nails sharpening even more than they had already been. Yuugi dodged a few hits, eyes widened as he recognized the attack that Yami had used only a few times, but was the favourite killing manner for his demonic counterpart.

_//He wants to _poison_ me now?! I thought he wanted me as a bed slave!//_ Yuugi's aura grew, a shadowy tendril wrapping around Demon Yami's wrists to try and keep his claws at a distance. The tendril was broken as if it were only thread.

_//He obviously sees us as a real threat now so killing us is safer for him. I remember that no matter what, safety came first to a certain degree.//_ Yuugi felt Yami scowl within him, restraining the urge to let his shadow magic expand further since it would break the balance they'd created.

_//Any plans to actually stop him yet?//_ There was silence as Yuugi made more moves to dodge. A few moments later he could feel a smirk coming from his lover, yet he didn't say a word.

A small fluctuation in the balance of shadow and angelic magic instantly slowed Yuugi down. Within another second he could feel hands wrapping around his neck and sharp nails piercing the skin. "Poison Claw!"

With a sharp cry, Yuugi clenched his eyes shut before finally wrenching himself loose. The fluctuations in his aura continued, the effort to restore the balance and then try to keep it only seeming to weaken Yuugi further.

Demon Yami smirked as he gave a kick to Yuugi and send him to the ground. The angel crashed into the ground with another cry, his eyes still clenched shut.

"Well if I'd known that was all it would take I would've done this the instant the fight started." No movement came from the angel as Demon Yami landed beside him. The demon threw a mocking look down at the form lying on the ground. "And that little union of yours seems to be spreading my poison even faster. Well, I suppose your suffering will become shorter then."

Demon Yami gave the body one more glance, feeling the power almost drained away, before turning his back and scowling at the amount of angels and demons staring at him. He didn't care so much about the angels but his demons had stopped fighting as well. By the energy he felt a little away, Bakura and Mariku had not bothered to stop and watch and were happily killing demons left and right now that they weren't paying the slightest bit of attention.

"What do you think you're doing?! We have a war to win!" All demons snapped out of the daze they'd been in and instantly started to fight again. The angels responded with just as much vigour, the battle starting up again.

With a quick glance around, the demonic ruler instantly spotted God, his smirk returning to his face as he concentrated back on the angelic ruler, "Shall we continue where we left off as well?"

God glared as he let his aura blaze, killing a few demons around him as he did. He did not enjoy killing anyone, whether they were angel, mortal or demon, but at the moment there was no other way. He focused back on his opponent only to have his eyes widen at the sight before him.

Demon Yami's eyes narrowed at the look of shock, not aimed at him but right behind him. Though it could be a mere trick, he knew he could take a few hits from the angelic ruler. He would keep his senses on alert anyway so he doubted the other could even get close to him with his back turned.

The demon slowly turned around, but before he was even able to face what was supposedly behind him, he felt a strong spell bind him, before more spells were shot his way and send him flying. He crashed into the ground some feet away, the binds around him still holding even with the abuse the spells had given them. Demon Yami growled as he looked up, his eyes meeting a sight he did not expect

Yuugi was standing there, aura in perfect harmony once more and power at full. A small smirk was playing on his lips, obviously a trait his soul had brought into this form, and a new spell was already aimed at him.

With great effort the demonic overlord broke the bind that had been holding him, dodged the spell send his way, and flew forward. The question of how Yuugi was still standing after having been nearly killed by his poison shot through his head but he had no time for them as he dodged spell after spell.

At last the two opponents stood before each other again, Yuugi still with a cocky smirk and Demon Yami with a glare. The demon was the first to finally speak his mind, "How did you manage to beat my poison?!" he was outraged and insulted. No one had ever defeated that attack and yet Yuugi still stood before him, the wounds in his neck already healed and no sign of weakness to be spotted.

"How? You seem to forget that part of us is you. Did you think Yami did nothing while in control of that body?" Yuugi threw the ruler an insulted look and Demon Yami had the distinct idea that no matter how much in sync the two in front of him were, his soul was the one speaking mostly now.

"While in that body, Yami made his soul impervious to that attack. He is the antidote itself as it were, and so the minute your attack penetrated our skin, his soul started cleaning the poison. He actually made us play along by forcing control for a while." That explained why the angel had kept his eyes clenched shut so tightly. If they'd opened, crimson would have been the only colour there and he might have become suspicious. He had been a fool.

With another scowl Demon Yami attacked with full force. The fight between the two supreme powers continued, spells, curses, punches and kicks being used in quick succession in an attempt to subdue the other. They were completely equally matched. The slight bit of extra power Demon Yami seemed to have was negated by the quick thinking of Yuugi, making them completely evenly matched.

With yet another explosion of shadow balls hitting each other the two were thrown apart for a moment, both using the time to recover and try to plan something.

_//Yuugi, I think I have an idea on how to stop him.//_ Yuugi panted as he tried to regain some energy, the strain of keeping the balance in power fully taking effect by now. He knew he didn't have much time left before he'd run out of energy completely.

_//Good, because we won't be able to keep up with this much longer. What's the plan?//_

_//I want you to hang the puzzle around his neck.//_ Yuugi's eyes widened, quickly glancing around him to see if the demonic ruler hadn't snuck up on him yet. Nothing yet.

_//You want me to_ what_?! Yami, the only reason we're still alive is because we've been working together! If I put the puzzle around his neck, you'll go with it and I won't stand a chance!//_

_//I know that, but that way my soul will enter his body. I don't know if I'll be powerful enough to take control, let alone keep it, but it's the only thing I can come up with!//_

Yuugi's stance was hesitant for a moment and Demon Yami took that moment to attack. Yuugi was hit multiple times by attacks before he was able to counter, his eyes once more blazing with determination. He trusted Yami, and he believed in the other. If this was really the only way then he would trust that the other could take control of his body again.

With a few fast moves that cost him the last of his energy, Yuugi managed to bind the demon once more. Demon Yami roared in protest, his power already reaching to break the shadow chains. Yuugi wasted no time as he tore the puzzle from his neck and quickly threw it over Demon Yami's head. The pendent hit the demon´s chest harshly, but Yuugi didn't care at the moment.

The other froze, his eyes instantly glazing over as his thrashing stopped and his wings beat slowly just as the shadow chain broke, the beats just enough to keep him up. Yuugi felt his body returning to normal, the increase of power gone and the strange feeling of having two souls in one body dissipating. He looked on with half-lidded eyes as a struggle for power shone in crimson eyes. He could see anger surging through the other from both sides, indignation that he was being violated once more by a soul opposed to determination to regain the body. The eyes closed and Yuugi panicked, now unable to see who was winning and who would be in control by the time the eyes opened again.

Below him, he sensed a pause in the fighting that had been going on. The demons felt the change in their master and all looked up. The angels, confused by the sudden pause, looked up as well.

A male demon flew up, stopping next to his ruler and briefly glaring at Yuugi. After having seen the enormous power the angel had displayed, he didn't dare attack him though. He focussed back on his master.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?" There was a long moment of silence, the struggle for dominance obviously not over yet. The demon looked in confusion at getting no response. Yuugi supposed he was wondering why the epic battle had suddenly come to a halt and why Yuugi himself wasn't even attacking. Yuugi mentally shrugged, too tired to care and not really feeling any need to explain himself to a demon.

A few more moments passed before the chaotic aura that had been raging around the demonic overlord ever so subtly calmed down. Yuugi bit his lip in anticipation. Half his mind didn't want to know what the outcome was, fearing his lover's soul had been beaten and there would be no more hope from now on. The other half was beating the former up for ever doubting Yami, and was screaming at him that it would all be alright. Yuugi didn't know exactly what side to believe, but he'd rather have the demon open his eyes before he went mad with the suspense.

Slowly crimson eyes opened, staring at the demon to his side. Yuugi's stomach dropped as he saw the cold look only the demonic ruler had shown so far in the eyes he used to adore so much. His eyes closed as tears slowly made their way down his cheeks, his hope gone.

"How many times have I told you?" the nameless demon looked fearfully at his leader as the other glared at him with a coldness even he hadn't seen yet. Hands wrapped around his neck as nails slowly pierced his skin, the poisonous attack Yami was known for most already kicking in.

"I am _not_ your leader!" Yuugi's eyes shot open as those words were growled out. The nameless demon's eyes widened before closing as the poison took effect. He was a weak demon, so the poison needed near to no time to take effect.

"Y-Yami?" Yuugi stared in shock as the other simply threw the body down at the crowd still staring at him with a scowl. The demon flashed him a brief smirk before once more turning his attention to all staring at him from below.

"Demons, go back to Hell! This war is over as of _now_! All who dare to stay will meet the same fate as he did." Yami glanced briefly at the body that had by now hit the ground quite painfully. He was sure a few bones had broken, possibly his neck. "Though I'll prolong the suffering will greater."

All demons' eyes widened at the sound of the booming voice. Within no time they had all fled, back to Hell as they'd been ordered. Yami sighed in relief as he ran a hand through his hair, "Good, now only to tell the other idiots at the other entrances they have the get the fuck out of here and everything will be fine again." Before he could go anywhere, he felt Yuugi crashing into him, the younger hugging him and sobbing. Vaguely Yami distinguished words between the sobs, though he had no idea what the other was saying. He simply smiled reassuringly, wrapping his arms around the angel and soothing him. He didn't bother trying to calm Yuugi down as he took off towards the next place where the demons were attacking, knowing the other wouldn't calm down for a while but needing to stop the fighting as soon as possible.

There would be quite a mess to clean up after all of this, and the sooner he stopped all the fighting, the sooner that cleaning up would begin. Besides, his demonic self was still raging within him, trying to break free and take control again. He needed to get to God as soon as possible so he could seal his soul into the body again, which would most likely get him back in control completely.

And after that? He actually had no idea. Right now he was taking everything one step at a time, unsure of how long he could even keep suppressing his demonic side.

**

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****And that my dear people is it. Credit to be given out goes to SuzaShizune for coming up with the idea of hanging the puzzle around Demon Yami's neck to get him back to normal ages ago when I wasn't even thinking about it yet. I liked it so I used it so now she's getting credit. Well, that's about it for now. Next week will be the epilogue so see you all then! **


	12. Epilogue: Forever

**Well, here's the last chap people****. Next big fic should – and I mark the ****should**** here – be a Naruto fic I'm planning to write for NaNoWriMo. If I do manage to write a decent one it'll be put up end of November, beginning of December. Summary's on my profile for those who wanna know. Anyway, back to this fic ne? I seriously had no idea what the hell I was doing while writing this so forgive me if I did stuff wrong. Other than that, I hope you all have fun with the last chap! R&R!**

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**--: Epilogue :--  
Forever**

"Big Brother!" Yami turned just in time to catch the girl that was running at him in his arms. The once more soulful demon smiled softly as the girl started sobbing out of relief and happiness just like Yuugi had been doing not too long ago, apologizing over and over again that she hadn't believed him. Yami simply let her rant, knowing it would be pointless to try and interrupt her now. He'd simply wait until she'd calm down.

Bakura's eyes narrowed in annoyance at the amount of crying there was all of a sudden. "Oh please, why is everyone crying if everything's back to normal?" He wrapped an arm lazily around Ryou's waist, the angel look-alike blushing but not pulling away, a shy smile appearing on his face.

Yami glanced up at him and raised an eyebrow at the sight, "When did you two get together? Don't tell me you actually decided to make your move while I was in mortal peril?" All he got was a cocky smirk in return from the other soulful demon, and a deep blush from his angel look-alike. Yami couldn't help but feel the normality returning. Especially when the bickering of Malik and Mariku entered his ears as the two walked into the throne room they were currently waiting in.

God had told them to wait there for him, saying he had certain things to take care of first. Yami grimaced slightly at the thought, knowing that his demonic side was still struggling to gain control, but the simple presence of his friends seemed to make it easier to keep him suppressed. Yami suspected the emotions he allowed himself to feel when around them was scaring the demon off, not wanting to get near such feelings.

"Mi-chan?" Yami looked down at the now calmed down girl still in his arms and smiled at her.

"Don't worry, I'm not angry. Although I must say you can hit quite hard." Kumiko smiled at the slight joke. She hugged her brother more tightly, thankful that she had gotten him back and that he was seemingly back to normal as well.

"So are you sure you're okay?" Yami glanced next to him to see Yuugi's worried look aimed at him. The other was of course referring to the fact that he was still suppressing his demonic self, knowing it hadn't been sealed away completely yet.

"I don't think he likes me feeling so many emotions. He's keeping to himself quite a bit." Yuugi let out a sigh of relief. Yami leaned over to kiss the other briefly before straightening again as the large doors to the room were opened and God walked in, a tired look on his face.

"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting but there's quite a mess outside and… well... I think you get it." With a sigh the ruler sat in his throne and gave the group a small smile. "Now then, I believe I still have some things to settle here."

Yuugi's look turned somewhat cold as he stepped forward, "You still have to seal Yami's soul in the body again so his demonic side can't suddenly take over."

God gave Yuugi a sad look, one aimed at the coldness the other was using, but stood up nonetheless to oblige to the request. It was the least he could do at the moment.

"Alright then. Yami, if you'll come over." Yami stepped forward until he stood right in front of God, Kumiko left behind with the rest of the group. God closed his eyes as blue magic sparked around the two, The puzzle around Yami's neck glowed brightly, golden magic that seemed to emanate from the pendant fusing with the blue already there. As both magics dissipated Yami felt his soul detaching itself from the influence the puzzle had had on him, as the control over his body came back fully. He could no longer hear or sense his demonic self, the demon once more gone or suppressed.

"There, that should do it. If you would give that puzzle to me? I think two certain guardians will want it back." Yami removed the puzzle from his neck, feeling no change as it left his chest and was handed it back to the angelic ruler. With another flash of blue light the puzzle was gone, most likely back in the limbo where it had come from.

"Thank you, we're leaving now." All eyes turned to Yuugi who had already turned around and was leaving. God let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair as he considered what to say to the angel.

"I think I have something else to say to you, Yuugi." The younger turned his head, stopping but not turning completely. His eyes still held coldness though a flicker of curiosity was also to be seen.

"What is it?" Once more a tone that held no respect to it, but God paid no heed to it.

"I believe I owe you an apology." The ruler stepped forward until he was only a few feet from Yuugi. "I am sorry for saying what I said. I think that after what we've seen today, even I can't deny that his heart is good, and he should never be killed."

All gazes that rested on the pair turned questioning, none knowing what the ruler was speaking of. Yami raised an eyebrow at the strange conversation.

"What's this about, exactly?" God turned back to the group, throwing a glance at Yuugi to see if his apology had been accepted before focusing on the friends as a whole. Yuugi still had a sceptical look to his eyes, obviously unsure of what to think. Maybe if he explained to them all, the others would know he meant what he said.

After all, he did.

"After you had left and Yuugi was left with me so I could send him to Limbo, he asked me why I had done nothing to stop Tsumi from taking Yami's soul. I could've most likely prevented it if I'd tried and a lot of this mess wouldn't have happened. The reason why I choose not to help was because, no matter what, I feared Yami." He could see the demon raising his eyebrow higher in surprise. After all, it had been God who had given him a soul instead of killing him when he had been defeated for the first time.

"You see, when I gave Yami a soul instead of killing him, I thought he would never regain his powers. When he did, I feared him growing even more powerful than he had already been and attacking me out of vengeance for the life I'd condemned him to. That fear stayed and grew when he was growing towards the point where he'd go into Bloodlust. When Tsumi used the attack and I thought Yami would merely turn into a soulless doll…" God sighed and closed his eyes, "I mistook it for a chance to get rid of something I'd feared for so long."

There was silence for a brief period before the least likely person to explode with anger started yelling. Kumiko, someone who was mostly a timid and cheerful person stepped forward, anger in her eyes.

"So you decided to sacrifice my brother instead of trying to deal with your problems? You… you… coward!" More silence, though a shocked one this time. Kumiko didn't back down, her glare staying in place as he looked the ruler of Heaven. God himself stared, momentarily as shocked as the others at the outburst coming from the girl, before gathering himself again.

"I know now that what I thought was wrong. Even though he could've abandoned Heaven when he returned from Limbo, he didn't. He fought and won." He turned his gaze to Yami who was staring with an unreadable look, "I am sorry."

The two rulers stared at each other for a while before Yami spoke. "I admit that in the beginning revenge crossed my mind, but I realized that in that case I'd be no better than the demon I was trying so hard not to become. Besides," He smiled as he walked over to Yuugi and wrapped his arms around him, "I could never harm anyone who was of importance to Yuugi."

God smiled as Yuugi's face instantly cleared of all anger and a brilliant smile spread across his face. He heard a brief squeal coming from Kumiko before the girl covered her mouth and blushed slightly. The ruler's smile widened and he shook his head. He had never truly looked into the relationship between Yuugi and Yami, and he had to admit that if he had, he would've seen what he knew now. Yami had grown tremendously and would never do anything to harm Heaven in any way.

"Well, I might have one thing I can do for you. I know apologizing won't really do much so let me try this another way. Yuugi, do you have any idea how long you were in Limbo?" Yuugi glanced away from Yami and gave God a hesitant questioning look.

"I don't know, time had a strange way of passing in that place. I really couldn't make heads or tails of it but I think no longer than a day." He frowned, "Right?"

God simply smiled as the rest of the group gave him a disbelieving look, "Actually, you were there for an entire week." Yuugi's eyes widened as Yami cocked his head. He really had no idea how long he'd been in that place since his senses had been clouded by nothing but pain and misery, so he just decided to stay quiet.

"A… whole week? But…" The confusion was clearly readable on Yuugi's face and God chuckled.

"Well you didn't think that war took only a day to start up like that? That Limbo has a strange way of messing with your sense of time. Now, do you remember anything special that was supposed to have happened in that week you were gone?" More confused stares, not only coming from Yuugi this time. A few moments passed as God patiently waited for the pieces to click in everyone's minds. Yuugi's eyes were the first to widen in realization.

"Yami and I… we were supposed to get..." Yami's eyes widened as well as he caught on to what God was hinting at.

"Married." Yami cursed himself inwardly for managing to skip the day they'd been planning for so long now. His Bloodlust sure had great timing, and Tsumi obviously knew how to ruin something as well.

God smiled as the rest of the group came to the same conclusion. "Indeed. Since I was keeping an eye on you," he looked at Yami, "I know what day you two were planning on. It was the day before yesterday." Yuugi's aura dropped as he turned his gaze to the ground. Yami continued to beat himself up on the inside even though it hadn't really been his fault.

"We… missed it?" God chuckled at the disbelieving and depressed tone and Yuugi's eyes shot up to him. The angel glared mildly at the ruler, unsure of where this conversation was going.

"Don't worry. I told you I might be able to help with that. What if _I_ marry you two?" Yuugi's eyes widened as well as Yami's. Being married by God himself? That had to be one of the greatest honours there were.

Seto, who had so far been silent, hesitantly stepped forward, "But sir, even though that's a great honour, it wouldn't help any back on Earth, would it?"

"Well that I can arrange as well. I've got enough paperwork so a bit more won't matter." God looked back at Yuugi, the angel still staring with disbelieving eyes. Yami's expression was mostly blank, though small bits of relief and respect could still be seen if one looked carefully enough. "What do you two say?"

After finally processing that this wasn't a joke of any kind, Yuugi's face split into a huge smile. His eyes once more showing the respect they had lost with that one remark as the angel's tone displayed the same amount of respect as he spoke, "We'd be honoured, right Yami?"

The taller nodded with a smile on his face, "Yes, we would."

"Good, well since I've never actually done this we'll have to improvise somewhat." The angelic ruler gave a quick look around before letting magic course through the room. A table appeared in front of him with two chairs in front of it. More chair appeared further to the back so the rest of the group could take their place.

A bouquet of flowers appeared in Yuugi's hands as both his and Yami's clothes changed. Yuugi's normal angelic robes changed into ones with far more intricate golden designs, small amethysts encrusted in some places. Yami's outfit changed into similar robes though black of colour, the golden designs replaced by silver ones and rubies the jewels encrusted into it all.

More flowers seemed to sprout out of nowhere to decorate the spot, as the blue magic continued to spark around them, hanging in the air and staying in the exact same spot as if taunting the law of gravity.

As Yuugi and Yami looked aroundthey saw that no one else's clotheshad changedwith the help of the magic but one. Kumiko was wearing a beautiful white dress that seemed to change to gold and silver when the light hit it just right. In her hands appeared the small box that both Yuugi and Yami instantly recognized as the place they'd put the rings they'd bought.

Yuugi looked back at his ruler, his eyes shimmering in happiness. God could clearly see that, although improvised, both Yuugi and Yami approved of what he'd come up with in the short time he'd had.

"Alright then, if everyone will take a seat. I have to start coming up with a speech now." The group chuckled at the light tone God spoke with, though the ruler had meant what he said. He really had never done such a thing and he didn't want to make this any normal wedding anyway.

As everyone sat down, Kumiko next to Yami so she'd be close when had to give the rings securely clutched in her hands, God went to stand behind the table and faced Yuugi and Yami.

"Well, we have not officially gathered here today to see these two get married, but I'm sure that everyone they really wanted here is present. These two are going to do what seemed unthinkable not too long ago, and that is get married. This is the first angel and demon couple that are attempting this I think I've ever seen." A snort could be heard from Bakura and both Yuugi and Yami smiled, translating the sound into the demon being insulted he wasn't being the first with Ryou. Everyone else simply ignored the noise.

"Well, I believe I'm supposed to give a very long speech about how these two fit so well together, but I think we all know that they do. In eight years time they've broken more rules to be together than I ever thought possible an angel could during an entire human lifetime. Despite of all the problems, they're still together." Both Yuugi and Yami looked sheepish as they were reminded of all the rules they'd broken, but it did nothing to disturb the happy aura that was surrounding them both.

"Is anyone in this room insane enough to object to this marriage?" Mariku was oh-so tempted to stand up and object, but Bakura stepping harshly on his foot and glaring at him made him stop and pout.

God's gaze momentarily lingered on the pouting demon with a raised eyebrow, before he continued, "Alright then. The rings, if you please?" God's gaze turned to Kumiko and the girl quickly got up, opening the small box and standing a little behind her brother and Yuugi. Both angel and demon took the other's ring as they locked gazes. The girl quickly sat down again so they could continue.

"I, Yuugi Mutou, take you, Yami Atemu, to be my lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish, 'till death do us part." Without looking away Yuugi slipped the ring around Yami's finger, smiling brightly as it slid on without any trouble.

"I, Yami Atemu, take you, Yuugi Mutou, to be my lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish, 'till death do us part." Yami's gaze didn't drift away either as he slipped the ring around Yuugi's finger without any problems, returning the smile the other was giving him.

"Forever."

"Then, by my own power, I hereby pronounce you husband and, well husband. The grooms may now kiss." Everyone around chuckled as Yami and Yuugi drew closer and kissed. Whistles and catcalls were heard – Joey abruptly being hit on the head by Seto for doing so while Bakura and Mariku remained unchecked – before the two newlyweds drew back, Yuugi blushing and Yami smirking.

Joey, though still pouting somewhat from being the only one to get hit once more, grinned at his long-time friend, "Yuug! Throw da bouquet!" Yuugi glanced down at the flowers that had been lying in his lap before smiling and standing up. He turned his back completely to his friends before throwing the bouquet into the air.

As Yuugi turned around, he grinned at the surprised face of Malik holding the flowers in his arms, a bewildered look in his eyes. Joey had burst into full-out laughter at the mere sight.

"Guess you're da one ta get married." Malik's face filled with more bewilderment before his eyes widened with realization. He spluttered a little, obviously trying to deny what Joey had said, before arms wrapped around him from behind and he was hugged by a happily grinning Mariku.

"We're going to get married?!" Malik once more tried to deny everything, the entire group, including God, laughing at the sight of Malik actually stuttering, before the angel sighed in frustration and stopped his usual struggling to get free.

"You know what, I give up." The blonde turned around and kissed his demonic look-alike full on the lips. Mariku was momentarily shocked by the action, having expected to be hit or something but was happy to kiss back not even a second later. For a moment longer the group was silenced in stupor at Malik finally giving into his feelings, before they simply shook their heads.

"Well, it was about time. Maybe now he'll stop that infernal humming of his because he has someone besides me to torment." Mariku drew away from the kiss momentarily, immediately starting to hum his usual happy tune just to spite Bakura, before Malik drew him back. Bakura scowled in annoyance. "Or maybe not."

Both Yuugi and Yami laughed, Yami wrapping his arms around his new husband as the other leaned into him.

"So where are you two off to for your honeymoon eh?" Joey threw the two a suggestive look. Yuugi blushed but Yami merely rolled his eyes. It wasn't like this would be their first time after all, and Joey knew that all too well.

"Egypt. It's where I was born but I haven't actually been there since I was little. We thought it would be nice to go back there." Yuugi nodded, a huge grin now on his face.

"Yeah, and I've always loved the pyramids and I've wanted to see them up-close for a while now. We figured it would be a great place to go."

Joey shook his head, a smile spreading across his face as he gave his friend a quick noogie, "You're hopeless Yuug, y'know dat?" Yuugi gave the blonde a confused look before he was swept back into Yami's arms with a slight yelp. The other grinned at him before quickly looking back up at his friends,

'You guys will take good care of Kumiko until we're back, right?" He got a quick swat on the head by the girl who pouted at him.

"I can take care of myself you know!" Yami smiled at her, before looking back at his friends questioningly.

"Don't worry; she'll be fine as long as she stays out of Mariku and Malik's room. I doubt any of us will want to go there for a while." Bakura received a glare from Malik but Mariku gave an innocent look that simply screamed that Bakura was right. All around sweat dropped and decided to take Bakura's words to heart.

"Well, then we'll be going. We'll see you guys in two weeks and," Yami gave the two other soulful demons a pleading look, "try not to completely kill my company. I think one week of absence was already bad enough."

Now both Mariku and Bakura gave an innocent look that had Yami reconsidering his decision to leave, but Yuugi simply shook his head.

"Come on, they won't put you out of business." _'I hope.'_ Yuugi decided against adding the latter part for obvious reasons.

With a sigh Yami nodded, "Fine, we're going." He spread the wings that had been drawn into his back by spells, surprised that the strange robe he was still wearing simply let the wings pass through them. He didn't bother to ask how this was possible, and just went with it.

They took off, Yuugi not bothering to get out of Yami's hold and fly himself as he just snuggled closer to the other. Yami's hold tightened as he headed towards Egypt. For a minute there was silence before Yuugi's eyes widened and he shot up in Yami's embrace.

Yami's looked at the other in a slight panic, afraid the other had forgotten something or such, "What is it? Did we forget something?"

Yuugi stared at the other in disbelief for a moment for not noticing before crossing his arms and pointing in the direction of their house.

"Yes, we're _not_ going to Egypt dressed like this!"

**

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****And that was it. I hope you've all enjoyed my fic, considering the fact it was a sequel and usually sequels aren't all that great. I really hope I didn't screw that up… well, no turning back now anyway. The thing I was clueless about in this chap was the wedding as you probably guessed. I seriously don't have a clue what I was doing there but people who've proof read this said it was good so yeah. ****For those once more interested in name translations. Tsumi means 'sin'. I think that's for obvious reasons ne? Kyoki – Mariku's last name in this fic – means ****'insanity', and Kaitou – Bakura's last name – should mean something along the lines of 'phantom thief' or the likes if D.N.Angel is to be believed anyway. Both I think explain themselves as well. Thanx to Mystic Dodo for helping me come up with these names.**

**Credit to be given to S2Teennovelist cuz she suggested Kumiko yelling at God when we were talking. S2's the best °grins°**

**Thank you all for reading and for those who worked up the energy to review – because yeah, that takes so much out of someone – uber thanks to you! See you all in a next fic hopefully!**

**Moony**


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